Tuesdays With Sasori
by Pripyat
Summary: AU: Deidara finds himself part of an investigations team for the murder of Sandaime, but the murderer is more than meets the eye; leaving Deidara to realize that his heart, mind and body have fallen captive to a fifteen-year-old psychopath.
1. Investigations

Tuesdays with Sasori

Chapter one – Investigations

It was Tuesday.

Deidara had seen this much blood many times before in crime photographs, but this was the first time he had been in the presence of this much real, human blood. His face was twisted in a disgusted frown at the amount of blood spilled over the curb. It was his first real job, so he couldn't be blamed for such a reaction. The other investigators were snapping photographs and taking samples, but Deidara couldn't find himself going near the yellow tape that had stretched over the red sea.

He would never expect something so dramatic as this to be his first job – a pedestrian would make more sense; only people that co-workers, friends and families were close to, but something like this – something this heinous and someone so well-known: The Third Kazekage.

Deidara was fresh out of college and already engaged to one of the women he had met in his Physics class. His chief, Kakashi, was a nice man and treated Deidara fairly, as he did the rest of his subordinates; and his job was well-paying and brought bread to the table.

Crime had always fascinated him ever since his father was murdered during the second world war about eight years back – he was fourteen then. Deidara loved to look into the minds of criminals, which was why he was so eager to be a detective. It fascinated him to discover the motives of people; find out why they did what they did, but there was no logical explanation for why someone would kill the Third Kazekage. He was the greatest Kazekage the country of Suna ever had.

His thoughts were interrupted by a slap on his back. He nearly stumbled, but managed to find his footing in the last minute before his face came in contact with the pavement. Deidara was greeted by a pair of stern brown eyes and a welcoming smile.

"You all right there, kid?" his co-worker asked, noticing the vacant expression on his partner's thin face. Deidara nodded and straightened his back, flicking his blonde hair so it fell properly over his face again.

"It's brutal, isn't it?" Shikamaru finished with a sigh, "and we still haven't located the body." He broke his words with an annoyed groan. "…Suna's not going to be happy that their Kazekage has been assassinated on our soil. I hope we don't have a third world war on our hands."

Deidara nodded in agreement. Suna and Konoha were powerful countries, and from the end of the last world war, their relationships were still very brittle. This murder had both countries up on their toes.

Before he could add anything else, Shikamaru pushed a wooden clipboard into Deidara's arms, piled with papers of the Investigation results. The blonde thumbed through the envelopes and pulled out the photos that the security cameras had taken when the murder had been committed, but they were so distorted, it was hard to tell who the silhouettes belonged to.

The first paper was a profile of the Third Kazekage, including his weight, height, and date of birth. The next was a copy of his autopsy report – blank, of course, besides his approximate time of death since the body and murder weapon were missing.

The second paper was a list of witnesses – only three – who had claimed to see some parts of the murder.

"Kakashi's assigned you to this one." Shikamaru said, jabbing a black and white photo of the teenage boy Deidara was looking at. Deidara followed his reading with one of his fingers, scanning over his profile:

Name: Sasori Kou Akasuna

D.O.B.: January 23rd

Age: 15(?)

Height: 5'2"

Weight: Aprox. 97lbs

Birthplace: Sunagakure

"His residence is on Madison Drive. Number Five. Second floor. Room Thirteen." Shikamaru reminded Deidara even though he had already finished reading the boy's profile. "I've supplied you with plenty of paper. Go down to his apartment and get as much information as you can out of him. If you suspect anything about his testimony, alert the office and we'll bring him in to questioning tomorrow. Do you understand?"

Shikamaru said this slowly, as if he were trying to explain this to a small child, but Deidara still obliged.

His nose was invaded by an unpleasant smell. He turned to see his partner pull a lighter to the end of the cigarette he had kept tucked behind his ear. Shikamaru inhaled slowly and pulled it from his lips with his fingers, blowing a thick cloud of swirling smoke into the air before it dispersed. He set it between his teeth and outstretched his hand toward Deidara with a pack of five or so cigarettes left in the container. "You want one?"

Deidara shook his head. "…No…"

"…Ah, I see. Your fiancée would be upset with you."

"…Not just that, I have a baby coming soon…"

"How far along are you?"

"Six months."

Shikamaru grinned at his beaming partner, flicking his cigarette into a patch of snow and crushing it with his foot. "Do you know what his name is gonna be?"

"Her's, actually, and I think Sakura's still thinking of one." He shrugged. "She doesn't like my suggestions."

"I see…" There was a long pause. "…You sure you don't want one?" He offered again, shoving the box in front of Deidara's face. Deidara groaned and took one, shoving it into his pocket. "Fine, fine! I'll take it!!"

His partner chuckled. "Well, I'd best be going. I have to start my interview."

Deidara snapped back into reality and realized that he had best be doing the same. He waved to his partner and headed for the curb, getting into his black Volvo and retreating from Main Street at sixty miles an hour.

Madison Drive was in the rundown side of Konoha. It was the kind of place where most of the homeless people resided, as well as the people who could barely afford the housing they lived in. For a person fresh out of college, Deidara had a rather nice apartment, but seeing this made him feel like he lived in a Victorian Mansion. He was noticing the looks that the people on the street were giving him, like the Hokage himself was driving down their street. Then again, in a car this fancy, it would be hard not to avoid a suspicious, lustful eye from the residents. He ignored the stares and scanned the numbers on the curb for number five.

"Seven… no…" he whispered to himself almost inaudibly. "Six… almost there… Ah! Number five!"

He pulled up to the curb and stepped out of the car after securing his clipboard under his arm. He played with his keys for a bit before he managed to lock his car. The Volvo let out a happy, solitary note to signal that it was locked before its owner turned on it and retreated into the apartment complex.

The stairway was barely lit. It was easy to see where the steps were since his feet had gotten used to the length of his stride, but his eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the fly-infested, flickering light bulbs that were stationed well above his head.

His silence was quickly interrupted by a fit of banging coming from down the hallway. His spine tingled as he felt for the barrel of his gun, contemplating whether to draw it. By further investigation, he discovered it to the drums of some rather loud music. He was even more surprised to find it coming from door number thirteen. Typical behavior for a teenager, right? He used to listen to this type of music, too before he had fallen victim to other genres and his taste had changed.

He knocked firmly on the door, still not removing his hand from his gun. There was an awkward moment of ringing in his ears as the music stopped, but his heart still kept beating unruly against his ribcage. The door swung open in an instant, the wooden frame now occupied by a boy who barely came up to the height of Deidara's shoulders.

"Hello." He spoke softly, liquid velvet pouring from his thin, tinted lips.

Deidara couldn't find himself to speak. Sasori seemed rather kind in appearance, but the way he spoke was enough to slice Deidara's ears off. Just that one word had sent his heart beating faster and had stolen away his breath. He had a mysterious look about him, almost an innocent, childish appearance the way his feathery, light red hair fell, perfectly framed, over his round face and low over his eyes.

The boy was small both in height and in weight. He was unnaturally skinny and pale. His light brown eyes were to the point of graying, and filled with a raw emotion, almost like fear or hostility to some degree, giving Deidara the impression that he was looking at someone ten feet tall rather than five feet short.

Deidara flipped through the clipboard's papers and reread Sasori's profile, as if to check that this beautiful porcelain-skinned teenager was the same boy he read about earlier. He pulled the photo from beneath the paper clip and examined it thoroughly, though he couldn't find himself free of staring into the redhead's dusty brown eyes. He was so expressionless; as if there was some sort of mask he was intent on wearing to hide himself from the world.

Deidara put the clipboard at his feet and pulled the badge from his jacket pocket, showing it to Sasori like he had practiced in front of his mirror many times before. His lips were split into a cocky smile as he recited the words he had taught himself for times like this.

"Deidara Kamen. Konoha Department of Investigation." He said, allowing Sasori a quick glance at the polished badge before he closed the leather pouch and stashed it away into its pocket. Sasori's expression remained motionless, still, much to Deidara's embarrassment, locked on his only visible blue eye.

The redhead took a glance at the newcomer. His chiseled muscles were beautifully detailed from under the thin black shirt he wore. The only shame was the khaki jacket that covered the blonde's muscular arms. But Deidara still wasn't able to elude Sasori's gaze.

Sasori slid past the blonde and closed the door. "You're that detective." Sasori finished his thoughtful gaze with a blunt statement. "Ah, yes. The one the brown-haired detective told me I'd be seeing. I must admit, I was expecting someone a little older…" he trailed off with one of his long, thin fingers resting against his bottom lip. There was something odd about the way he said this.

"Please come in." He added, gesturing Deidara down the skinny hallway. Deidara followed Sasori's gesture with his eyes. The hallway looked like something plucked right from a nightmare. It was thin and claustrophobic, but also dark and seemed like there was no end to it. He had a feeling that if he walked down that hallway, he'd never get to the end of it.

"…Oy… I don't have all day." Sasori snapped, startling the blonde.

Deidara swallowed and obeyed, following behind Sasori as he lead the two of them down the hallway connecting the front door toward what he guessed to be the living room.

"So, you're that troublesome detective come to interrogate me." He repeated, this time with harsher wording. Deidara nodded, his throat still to dry to find words. Sasori walked into the small space occupied by his kitchen – if you could even call it a kitchen.

It had a sink and a fridge, but it was invaded by the living room couch. The fridge had a small TV on it with two antenna sticking in opposite, random directions from the top of it. There was a door to the left that was closed, which he suspected to be the bathroom since Sasori's idea of "Bedroom" was a pillow and a thick blanket draped over the back of his couch. Deidara almost felt sorry for him.

The coffee table was decorated with large, thick books and a heap of scratch paper with notes and drawings all over the pages. His finger curiously flipped through the books, all of them seemed to be medical and biology textbooks from over twenty years ago. These seemed to be where Sasori's money was going to.

"I want to be a surgeon." Sasori said, setting a cup of hot tea on top of the textbook Deidara had been looking through. He bowed his head politely and took the fragile china into his hands, taking a seat in the ripped, maroon chair across from the couch Sasori was sitting on.

Deidara placed the clipboard on his lap and filed through the case information with his thumb.

"Well, I've been assigned to Sandaime's Murder. I'm afraid we can't locate his body, but most people believe he had been assassinated while crossing Main Street to the taxi after his meeting with The Konoha Board of Directors. We can't find any murder weapons… or the body." Deidara finished, his head dropping a bit before his lips met the brim of his cup. "and I'm afraid our department considers you as a suspect for murder."

Sasori seemed unfazed by these words. He remained silent with his gaze on Deidara, his mind obviously occupied by different thoughts as he sipped his tea through a small crack in his lips.

"Deidara, is it?" Sasori stated after a long silence of staring and tea-sipping. He placed the cup on a pile of textbooks and kicked his feet up to rest on the coffee table. Deidara nodded, feeling a tinge of blush on his lips at the way Sasori said his name; it was more pronounced when Sasori said it.

"I can understand why I'm a suspect… since I was found at the crime scene… but… I would never murder anyone. Things like that are so… unforgiveable." There was a tone of sadness in his voice. "…My parents were killed when I was eight years old… ever since then, I've been alone. My grandmother moved to Konoha with me under her custody, but she had a heart attack two years after my parents were murdered. So," He took a deep breath as if to calm himself, "I've been alone since I can remember… I barely live with the money I make…" It was obvious since you could barely see Sasori's ribs budging from under his shirt.

Deidara wasn't sure if this was relevant to proving Sasori innocence, but his heart still reached out for him as he spoke since Deidara, too, had lost his parents.

"…I could never murder anyone…" he repeated. Deidara scribbled a brief summary of Sasori's statement onto a piece of paper. Sasori's face was filled with so much sadness, but it seemed that he couldn't conjure up any tears.

Deidara suddenly felt a great weight on his head, like someone had knocked him out. Sasori watched him from the other side of the couch as Deidara's head fell against his open palm.

"…are you okay?" the redhead asked, watching Deidara struggle to regain consciousness.

"…Ngh… yea…" he replied, clearly lying as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. His head drooped pathetically as his hand tried to maintain its weight. "…Just a little… tired… from work…"

Sasori sipped the last of his tea with his eyebrow raised. Deidara was surprised to find a devious smile hidden behind the cup after the china was lowered back to the table.

"…maybe you should take off from work for a bit." Sasori said with a different tone in his voice now as he watched Deidara with an amused smile.

"…I… I have to go…" Deidara said simply, cradling his head in his hands as he crossed the small room to the hallway. He collapsed against the side of the wall, pushing himself off as he limped toward the door, pulling it open.

It wasn't the front door – it was the closet. Deidara stumbled backward, his eye growing wide at the sight. He was greeted by not only jackets, but different sized jars containing diverse human organs. His bottom lip quivered at the sight of all the blood decorating the Third Kazekage's clothing. He was slumped, obviously dead, against the side of the closet, his bloodshot eyes watching Deidara like a hungry wolf.

His hand jumped to his mouth as tears of disgust formed in the corner of his eyes. He felt something crawl up the back of throat.

Deidara swallowed hard at the sudden realization that he was in the house of a murderer.

"Oh, dammit… that can't make me look too innocent…" said Sasori's icy cool voice from behind him. Deidara couldn't compose himself enough to escape, so he remained, shivering, motionless in the mercy of a killer. He couldn't look in Sasori's eyes, but he imagined them to be bloodshot and engrossed in the fear present everywhere on Deidara's body. He tried to move his legs, but they refused; paralyzed by fear. His lungs froze as his windpipe tightened. The fear stole all of the air from his body.

Sasori was ten feet tall again. He knelt down on one knee to look into the eyes of his victim. "Don't look so pathetic." It sounded more like a demand then a request. Deidara choked as he felt one of Sasori's thin, cold fingers stroke his throat.

"I don't want to kill you." Deidara felt some of the fear subside at these words. But his words sounded incomplete as if he wanted something from Deidara in exchange for his life.

The redhead got to his feet and looked down at Deidara as if he were a hawk watching its helpless prey try and scamper away from its predator. He stepped over Deidara, pulling a key from his jean pocket and locking the door so there would be no means of escape for the helpless blonde.

"What… d-do you… want…?" Deidara asked, afraid of his own question and keeping his gaze to the carpet. Sasori sneered at the thoughts surfacing in his mind, drinking in the fear with a deep breath.

"I want a lot of things, Deidara." Sasori replied. He walked down the hallway, juggling the key to the front door in one of his hands. Deidara realized for this to be an order for him to follow Sasori. He slowly trailed behind the redhead, limping with fresh fear as he crossed the small living room space. The coffee table separated the two of them. Of course, Sasori saw this as no obstacle and walked around it to meet Deidara's side.

The blonde was expecting to feel a gun, a knife, or Sasori's hands around his neck. Sasori brushed Deidara's bangs away to gain better access to his lips. He felt Sasori's hands slip up his chest and pull Deidara free of his khaki jacket, tossing it to the floor.

"What're you--?" Sasori threw Deidara onto his couch before he could finish. The redhead crawled up the other's body, pushing the weight of his frame against Deidara's stomach. Deidara remained dazed, confused, watching the raw emotion swirling in Sasori's face. His hands were pressed against Deidara's shoulders, keeping his upper-body from any form of free movement. He was surprisingly strong for a boy his age – and size, at that.

Deidara's hands, unrestricted by Sasori's compression, brushed against the barrel of his gun. He had been trained for situations like these – but not as physically awkward. He slowly listed the gun out, trying to keep his movements unnoticed by his captor.

In one swift movement, he flipped his hand up to direct it at Sasori, but he soon found his hand imprisoned by Sasori's powerful grip. He squeezed Deidara's wrist painfully and pried the gun from his clutches, pointing it at Deidara's forehead. And now had the tables turned, once again. Sasori leaned back, his legs still straddled over Deidara's waist, this time with a gun pointed directly at Deidara's forehead.

His pupils dilated in fear as he found himself having a staring contest with the mouth of a loaded gun.

"Please… Sa-Sasori…! Let me g-go! I won't tell anyone about what I saw—" His words were hushed, this time, by one of Sasori's fingers pressed against his quivering lips.

"Call me Sasori-Danna from now on." Sasori demanded in his soft, seductive, yet deadly voice. The blonde whimpered, but decided to obey Sasori's simple request.

"Good. Now… I'm not sure if I can trust you." He finished, cocking the gun and keeping it on target. "But I stick with my promises… and I promised I wouldn't kill you. But, in return, you have to make a few promises for me."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. Deidara had a gut feeling about this request, but he definitely didn't want to die. He nodded slowly. "…Yes… Da-Danna…" The words stuck in his throat as he said them.

Sasori grinned. "Now… I want you to clear me of all suspicion in your little investigations team."

Why did Deidara have a feeling that this was just going to get worse? "It'll be hard with all that evidence in your closet."

"Don't worry. They'll be here to pick it up tomorrow."

'_They?' _Deidara asked himself, deciding it best not to ask Sasori on what he meant.

"Oh, yes… and one more thing."

"Yes, D-Danna…?"

"I want to see you here… every Tuesday… all day… until I say otherwise." The gun remained locked on Deidara, and he soon realized that it was getting closer to his skin.

Sasori slowly reached across to the table, laying the gun just out of Deidara's reach onto its smooth surface in case he would need to use it later.

Sasori pressed his hands against Deidara's wrists, which were now pinned over his head. Deidara panicked, thrashing his legs before they were bound under the weight of Sasori's pelvis. The redhead's knee was pinned between Deidara's legs, pressing against the bulge in his pants. Deidara bit his lip to burry the almost pleasurable feeling arising in his groin. He felt one of Sasori's hands lift from his wrists, the other one holding both of them captive as the free hand snaked down the blonde's curving body. Instead of going where Deidara assumed, and almost hoped, it to be, it reached for something on his hip: his handcuffs, which were attached to his belt loop. They clicked open and wrapped around his thin wrists, thus giving the redhead no restriction to the use of his hands.

Which is exactly what he did.

"S-Sasori?!" he felt Sasori's hand lift him free of his black shirt. He impatiently bunched the material up by Deidara's wrists since there was no way he could get the shirt over the handcuffs. Deidara used this as something soft to grab on to, treating it like the only thing supplying the gravity from beneath his feet. "…Wa-wait…!"

Sasori ignored him and pulled himself free of his shirt. Deidara didn't pay attention to the band name written on its light brown surface as it fell to the floor. His eyes widened with shock, his breath, once again, stolen away from him.

Sasori's chest was smooth and scrawny with his skin pulled tightly over his developed muscles. On his chest was a deep, ugly scar over where his heart was hidden under his ribcage. Sasori seemed to notice Deidara's reaction by this, but refused to answer the pressing questions itching to escape from Deidara's lips.

His mind was quickly pulled off-track when he noticed the bony, smooth hand slipping down the front of his black jeans. Deidara struggled slightly, his cheeks flushing with an embarrassed shade of pink. The reaction out of this seemed to please the redhead, so he pressed onward by slipping his fingers under the hem of his victim's boxers and grasping his member, pleased by the spike in Deidara's body as he slowly arched off of the couch.

Deidara was tormented by the sudden reality that he was actually enjoying this. He soon found himself free of his own pants and boxers, joining his khaki jacket on the floor. Sasori did nothing more than pull his pants a little way down his small frame, denying Deidara a proper look at him; Instead, flipping the blonde onto his back.

He felt a colossal pain develop from where Sasori had forced himself in. The strength in his arms had fled, and he soon found his face smothering the couch cushions with a fit of moaning and tears. Sasori wasn't lenient and only brought more pain to the blonde by pushing himself in deeper. Deidara was awfully stubborn. He snaked an arm around the blonde's waist for leverage, driving deeper.

"…Sa-…!" Deidara pleaded, his voice too tired and overpowered with raw feeling to manage any proper words. "…Sa-…"

It always seemed like he was speechless around Sasori, anyway.

Sasori still disregarded Deidara's pleas. It didn't carry on for long before the pain subsided into an immense pleasure, but even that didn't last long with Sasori's growing pace. The pleasure faded away into nothingness and Deidara collapsed onto the couch, feeling Sasori pull away and get to his feet.

The redhead impatiently threw the blonde his clothing without a word before he re-clothed himself. Deidara still remained silent while dressing. Surely, his fiancée would have questions for him.

"Next Tuesday. Eight o'clock bright in the morning. No matter what…" Sasori said, keeping his back facing Deidara. Deidara pulled his clipboard to his chest and gave Sasori a slight bow before showing Sasori his back and turning toward the door.

"If the police show up, They will break me out" —There's that 'They' again— "If the police do arrive, I will assume that it was you who told them, and I will kill you."

Deidara swallowed at Sasori's words and turned the doorknob, finding it stuck halfway in its path.

"Danna… the door is—"

Sasori walked up behind him and slipped the key into the door, unlocking it. Again, Deidara bowed and left the door, only to be stopped by a tap on his shoulder. Sasori slipped the key into his hand.

"Now you can get in without raising suspicion."

"…um… thanks…" Deidara muttered, taking his first few steps away from the open door. He hadn't walked more than three feet before the door was shut and locked behind him, followed by another explosion of drums from Sasori's stereo.

He stepped out into the cold, finding his Volvo, surprisingly, still where he had left it. But upon further inspection, he found the passenger window smashed and his radio missing. He groaned and slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling his car key out. His ear caught a light THUMP on the ground beside him. He knelt down, finding its source to the cigarette that Shikamaru had given him earlier. He sighed and unlocked the car, slipping into the driver's seat and sticking the cigarette into his mouth.

He was still a little delirious from the drugs that Sasori had slipped into his tea, not to mention what else Sasori had done to him. He groaned and started the car, the engine startling him at first. Deidara rolled down his non-broken window and let the cool city air rush into the car. It gave him a calming feeling to be on the road again. Since his radio was missing, he didn't know what time it was. The moon's position in the sky suggested that it would be sometime past ten or eleven.

The blonde sighed and reached into his glove box for a lighter. He always kept one in case of emergencies, but he never thought that lighting a cigarette was an emergency. He held the now found lighter to the end of it, waited for the tip to illuminate, before he tossed the lighter into the back seat. He refused to inhale at first, but after a while he managed to adapt to the taste. After all, Shikamaru was his partner, and he smoked any chance he got, so Deidara had grown used to the smell.

When the dark part of the city grew illuminated by night clubs and flashing advertisements, he felt that he was home at last. He drove down the familiar streets until they had brought him to his home, right on the outskirts of town.

It was a small little house, but very comfortable. He drove into the driveway, knowing well enough that the sound of the garage door would wake Sakura. He drove in and quietly closed the door, flicking the cigarette into his damp lawn before kicking off his shoes and walking into the door. He found walking difficult at this point. He was tender with pain from Sasori's brutality. He still found it hard to believe that he had been outsmarted and outmatched by a fifteen year-old boy half his size. But what he found harder to believe was that part of him may have been in love with the boy.

Impossible. Deidara was seven years older than Sasori. Plus, he could be charged with child molestation since Sasori was legally too young to engage in such things.

The light flickered on. On cue, his Fiancée was standing in the doorway, wearing a robe over her light pink nightgown. Her arms were folded bitterly across her chest, but her aquamarine eyes were not filled with anger, but worry at the state her lover had returned in.

"Sorry, honey…" He said, pecking a kiss on her forehead. "I was working late."

She seemed to understand. Technically, it wasn't a lie.

"Your first big case…" She said, trying to sound happy and excited for him, but her voice was still worried.

He nodded and tried to flash her his usual cocky smile, but now all he wanted was a hot shower and bed. She allowed him to pass as he slipped into the bathroom connected to their bedroom. Sakura collapsed onto her side of the bed, watching Deidara undress and step into the steaming water. No sooner had the water shut off had she fallen victim to sleep.

Deidara rolled a towel around his hair and tied one around his waist. He quickly dried himself and slipped into a new pair of clean boxers, tossing his other ones into the trashcan under the bathroom counter. He soon found himself lying on his back, next to the person who mattered the most to him, playing monopoly with his mind. No matter how many times he tried to fight away what had happened, the images grew stronger. It became easier to remember where the freckles on Sasori's face were; how many flecks of gold he had in his dusty brown eyes; how pale his skin was, as well has how milky and smooth it felt.

He had to face the facts: He was in love with Sasori. He was struck with more grief at the sick hunger for Sasori's lips when he remembered that he had never kissed him. He then found himself dreaming about the flavor of the redhead's slender, pale-pink lips.

"_Next Tuesday. Eight o'clock bright in the morning. No matter what…"_

And judging by how quickly his heart had grown fond of him, next Tuesday wasn't coming fast enough.

Author's Note: This is what I get for playing too much Phoenix Wright and watching too many murder shows. I'm planning on making this somewhere between 3-5 chapters long. The Volvo came from Twilight, yes. I'm hooked on Volvos. As requested, the "World Wars" refer to the "Great Ninja Wars". Please review! Its makes me happy! :D


	2. Dreams and Fantasies

Chapter two –

Dreams and Fantasies

--

It was Thursday. Two weeks after.

Deidara slumped over his desk, staring at the photograph of his wife. He sighed and switched his gaze to the screensaver on his computer. His mind was still clouded from yesterday, but the only thing that managed to pull through the fog was the image of Sasori holding a gun to his head.

"Here, I think you need one… you look half-dead."

He snapped awake and looked up at the figure of his partner, holding two rather large cups of coffee in either hand.

"I made it just like you like it." Shikamaru cheered, which was strange to see since he wasn't a morning person. Or an afternoon person. Or an evening person. But he still managed to hold a smile on his usually smirking face as he set the coffee in front of his depressed partner. Deidara curled his lifeless fingers around the bottom of the cup and pulled the Styrofoam lid off of it so he could stare at his reflection in its black, murky depths.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and straightened his back, taking a quick sip of his coffee. "Are you sure you're okay?" he paused. "…You know… you've been like this ever since last week. I first assumed it had to do with lack-of-sleep, but you look more troubled than that. Did something happen while you were at that boy's house?"

This was the question he had been trying to avoid for the past two days. He had already turned in his notes to Kakashi yesterday without a word besides how they had no reason for any suspicion against Sasori. He kept quiet ever since then.

"…no… not at all… I'm just a little tired…" Deidara said, stirring the coffee with his finger, but Shikamaru was easily unconvinced by his words.

"Deidara."

He looked up from the coffee, his only eye glazed over with an emotion Shikamaru found difficult to read.

"You can tell me. If something happened… we can take care of it." Shikamaru had a hand on his shoulder.

Deidara quickly shook his head, much to Shikamaru's dismay. "It's okay… really. We have no reason to suspect him. He's just a kid…" But Shikamaru was unconvinced.

Regardless of his doubts, he decided to drop the subject, patting his partner once on the back before he grabbed one of the cigarettes on his desk and retreated to the curb to think for a bit. Deidara sighed in relief. Shikamaru couldn't understand what was going on through his mind, anyway, no matter how brilliant he was. Shikamaru didn't lack anything in intelligence, but he was half-dead when it came to emotion.

He pushed himself off of his chair, declaring an early lunch break for himself, and went through the back exit into the alleys in order to avoid another meaningless, getting-nowhere conversation with the brown-haired detective.

Deidara walked into the vibrant city, which seemed more alive than he felt at the current moment. The streets were buzzing with the conversations that people were having with their Bluetooth's and the roars of people in their vans and flashy sports cars. Taxis crowded the streets, honking their horns at pedestrians and bikers who walked in front of their hoods like they owned the city. But everyone in this part of the city seemed to have that same belief system.

He pushed into the crowd and cut through the slow-walkers with a destination in mind. A black-haired man snapped a few insults at him when he had knocked his expensive-looking phone out of his hand and onto the sidewalk, but Deidara had paid no mind to him, still. He ignored the man and turned into a corner deli that his tastes had grown very fond of.

The air was filled with the smell of freshly baked bread, seeming like the only thing that had provided him some comfort in familiarity. The line was long, as custom goes in a city this big, but he found piece of mind in being away from the office and all those pestering detectives.

Ten minutes in line wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. He paid the cashier and took a seat at the table closest to the window.

You could see the Hokage's palace off in the southern hills. It easily towered over the rest of the city, as something so "grand" was intended to be. By the time his mind had trailed back to Sasori, his sandwich was finished. Deidara crumbled up the paper and tossed it into the trashcan beside the door upon his exit.

The rest of the day at the office carried on as he was planning it to be. He sulked beside his computer and remained bidden behind his desk to try avoiding the gazes of his co-workers.

Deidara left the building as soon as the clock read five. He sneaked out of the back door into the alleyway with a small folder tucked under his arm. His keys were harder than usual to find in his left pocket, but the lonely Volvo was still happy enough to see its approaching owner from the other side of the Parking lot.

The sunset was peaking just over the city limits, reflecting its orange glow onto the city streets with assistance from the windows of the skyscrapers. His hair flew out the open sunroof as he steered his car around the slower drivers on the Interstate. Headlights started flicking on as the sun slowly ceased its glow on the city and sunk behind the mountains. Streetlamps were illuminated on the suburb side of Konoha. Deidara made a quick motion to make a left exit at the last minute, earning the horn of a Volkswagen Beatle from behind him.

It took no effort to get back to his home. Sakura had already planted a placemat at the head of the kitchen table. She was in the kitchen, hunched over the stove, stirring a steaming pot of some unknown substance. It smelled decent, but Deidara was hungry enough to eat dirt at this point.

He dropped his jacket at his feet and advanced on her, wrapping his arms loosely around her middle.

Sakura flashed her beautiful green eyes up at him before noticing the broken look on Deidara's face.

"Hard day at work?" she asked him, turning to look at him.

"…No, not really… I'm just a little tired. I think I'll just go off to bed after I finish eating." He replied with a distant gaze out the window toward the fluorescent lights of the city. Sakura easily distracted his gaze with a concerned look.

"Deidara… work's been really tough on you. Perhaps you should take a day off tomorrow."

"I'd like to, but I really need to finish this case…"

"There's no point in it. I was watching the news this morning… and it looks like, unless you find a body, it'll be a cold case by next week."

He shuddered at the images of Sandaime's body running through his head. "You know what… I think I'm gonna skip dinner tonight and just go to bed…"

He didn't wait for her protest, because he was sure that he was already going to get it. Deidara turned down the hallway and into the bedroom, closing the door behind him and collapsing on the bed. No sooner had his head hit the pillow had he lost consciousness.

His sleep couldn't be classified as "dreamless", but it was still difficult to classify those eight hours of unconsciousness as "sleep". At one point during the night, he felt the other side of the mattress grow heavy, meaning that Sakura had finally joined him, but the rest of the night was as uneventful as he had planned.

By the time the sunlight had flooded through his blinds, he was half asleep. He could smell breakfast cooking down the hallway, which became his only motivation to get out of his bed. He crawled out of his room, dragging his slippers along the floor into the kitchen. His placemat was occupied by a plate of hot blueberry pancakes and orange juice.

"Morning!" Sakura cheered. Sakura was always such a morning person. Deidara had to admit he had been one once, too… at least until Tuesday. He grunted and sat in his usual chair, breaking the pancakes into small bits with his fingers and gently placing them on his tongue. He swallowed, barely taking a quarter of his first pancake into his stomach before he announced himself finished and turned back into his bedroom.

He heard Sakura let out the beginning of her protesting statement as a small coo, but didn't manage to finish after she was interrupted by their bedroom door. He reemerged minutes later wearing a ruffled white-collared shirt with his striped tie hanging loosely around his neck.

"Have a nice day at wo—" SLAM. The garage slammed shut. The pink-haired girl dropped her spatula in the pan and slowly made her way to the garage, leaning out the door just as her fiancée's car withdraw out the driveway. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes as she gently closed the door. She retreated to her kitchen and lifted the spatula from the charcoal black pancakes burning in the flattened pan.

It's been two weeks since the day her fiancée had joined the Konoha Department of investigation. It's been two weeks since he'd changed. Deidara had once been so open, so kind to her, but now he was nothing more but a cold-shouldered stranger who was just living in a house with her.

The pink-haired woman tossed the discarded pancakes victim to Deidara's ignorance and the stove before she slowly rinsed off the pan in her pearly white sink. Somehow, seeing the pancakes in the trash symbolized how she felt in Deidara's eyes. She turned away quickly, switching her gaze out of the open window at a bird that had made a nest in their birch tree. Sakura listened carefully to the bird's whistling before she picked up the phone, dialing the number an old friend for some company.

Naruto always knew how to cheer her up.

-:-

Deidara pulled onto the highway, his sunglasses sitting on the edge of his nose. He swerved quickly past a mustang, taking his place in front of the sports car. He could see Konoha gleaming before him, about a twenty minute drive – if you were driving the legal speed limit.

He was able to make it to his office garage in less than ten minutes. He drove up the small ramp and waved to the security guard, pulling out his badge for his confirmation. The guard allowed him to pass.

He drove up to the second floor, swerving his steering wheel in jackknife positions. The car obeyed and took its abrupt turns around the parking garage. He liked the way his tires screeched against the pavement and the way they echoed against the stone walls.

Since he wasn't as high up in his career, he had to park on the third floor. His parking space was all the way in the back; the section of the building where lighting was scarce, and all you had was based on the flickering light bulbs.

He could see a figure ahead of him, slowly pacing out onto the middle of the road. At first, he thought his lack-of-sleep was making him delusional. The figure was so pale, he looked like ghost. But when he met the figure's eyes, he slammed on his breaks and yanked the steering wheel left, bringing it to a halting stop and throwing his head painfully against the driver's-side window. The crack in the window burst into a sheet of shattering glass, covering his pale cheek with cuts and bruises. He groaned and grabbed his head, feeling the throbbing pain against his skull. His hand was pulled away, his head dripping wet with fresh blood.

His eyes switched up to where the ghost had been standing, but it seemed to have vanished. His seatbelt was quickly pulled apart as he pushed the door open and spilled out onto the grimy street, coughing up a small amount of blood. Deidara stumbled to his feet and stood up, his body basked in the flashing of the flickering lights above him. It felt as if he were in some horror movie he didn't know about. His car door was slammed shut; he figured that no one would care if he left his car in the middle of the parking garage since he was in the very back of the garage where no one else parked.

"I'm right behind you, kid."

He felt his face hit pavement as soon as his knees gave out from fear. He looked up at the small figure of the hooded pale teenager that had been haunting his dreams and fantasies for the past two weeks. Sasori smirked at Deidara's state and bent down on his knees, his elbows resting on his thighs and his taunting gaze focused on the single, dilated eye of the terrified blonde.

"…D-Danna…?!"

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." He mocked, getting to his feet. Deidara whimpered and pushed himself off of the floor, caressing his forehead with his fingers. He decided to keep quiet – he wasn't sure if he should be joyful to see him or if he should cower in fear, or even be angry. But all he felt now was agony at the thought that he had almost run Sasori over.

"…I thought you said Tuesday…" he said, trying hard to avoid bringing up any of his previous thoughts.

"I hate waiting." Sasori said simply with a shrug. "So I decided to walk to your office and talk to you." Deidara got to his feet, still towering over Sasori by about a foot. He still felt small compared to the redhead, but he was happy to see him. Even though Sasori had done nothing for him, he was the only thing that seemed to bring a smile to his face.

"But I have work to do… I can't stay late with you… Sakura will be angry if I show up late again."

"Sakura?" Sasori repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"She's my fiancée…" Deidara saw Sasori's eyes darken at these words. He swore if Sasori had some form of a heart, it would have just been stabbed through.

"Oh."

Deidara recoiled at this simple word. There was a venomous tone in his voice.

"But it's not important. Come with me." He ordered, walking toward the stairwell. Deidara bowed his head and locked his car with his keys, following behind Sasori like a scared animal afraid of its abusive master.

He was expecting to be lead back to Sasori's apartment, but instead, he was lead to a small café on the corner of Main Street.

He was glad that the café wasn't lit well, because the way Sasori's skin was illuminated in the candlelight brought blush creeping across his cheeks. Sasori was gazing out the shaded window, dumping his fifth packet of sugar into his Chai Tea – even though the tea already came sweet enough with the whipped cream Sasori had demanded. Plus, Sasori had ordered a chocolate muffin. Deidara decided to refrain from coffee. Though Sasori was the one who had brought him here, Deidara was the one who ended up paying. He couldn't blame Sasori since he had little money.

Deidara was troubled, though. At the rate he was skipping his job, he would be fired soon; Sakura was close to dropping her engagement ring down the drain; Shikamaru was worrying about him.

He was interrupted by the sound of Sasori draining his drink dry. Deidara got to his feet after he was sure Sasori was done, but he was stopped by Sasori's hand.

"Sit." He demanded. Deidara slowly sat back down, nearly missing his chair and falling to the floor. Several heads turned in attempt to find the source of the noise. Deidara rose and sat back down, looking at his knees in embarrassment. "You're such a klutz." Sasori snapped, chewing on his muffin.

Deidara didn't want to tell Sasori that it was the redhead who had distracted him.

The coffee shop bell rang. Deidara slowly turned around, his eye catching the face of his Fiancée. He quickly ducked under the table, hiding under the red curtain. He felt a foot collide softly with his face, finding it to be the mud-covered, hand-me-down tennis shoe of Sasori responding to the arms wrapping around his legs.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Sasori growled, pulling his legs away from Deidara's touch.

"…It's Sakura…!" he muttered. Sasori's head snapped up, carefully studying every aspect of her face with jealousy and hatred. She was pretty, he'd give her that, but what Deidara saw in her, Sasori found hard to think about. But she was walking with someone else.

The other boy was about Deidara's age. He shared almost the same color hair, but it was shorter and more spiky rather than long and flowing. They both took a seat on the table across from them. Sakura seemed troubled, but the other one was smiling through his teeth, trying to cheer her up. To Sasori's pleasure, the pink-haired girl had burst into tears. She had her eyes hidden in the palms of her hands, her shoulders shaking.

He could feel Deidara cowering under the table, but he had learned his lesson from clinging onto Sasori's legs and retreated against the opposite side, but it was easy to tell by Deidara's body language the guilt that he was feeling from watching this.

Sasori turned his attention to the couple, listening in on their conversation.

"Sakura, please calm down… maybe its just his work… its not you..." the blonde said with a concerned tone.

She didn't reply until her eyes were wiped dry with her scarf. "I can't help but think it's me, though! He won't even LOOK at me!" she snapped at her friend, who recoiled back, staring at the candle.

Sasori smiled deviously at these words, glad that Deidara had been pulling away.

"Sasori… I want to go… please…!" Deidara begged through a silent whisper. But Sasori wouldn't satisfy him his request. He wanted to hear more. Sakura was happy to satisfy him with more tears.

"I don't know what to do… It's only been two weeks… it's like he's a different person… my Dei is gone…"

'_YOU'RE Dei…?' _Sasori whispered with a growl, secretly picturing a poisoned arrow penetrating through the back of her neck.

"But the baby—!" Naruto began, but Sakura shook her head, bringing more tears to her eyes.

'_Baby…?' _Sasori asked himself with a raised eyebrow. He switched his gaze to Deidara, who was watching the two of them with eyes ready to join Sakura's tears. _'He'll have to pay, then, won't he?' _

"…Sakura-chan…" the one called Naruto whimpered, running his fingers along her cheek. Sasori felt Deidara flinch, grabbing on to the redhead's legs again. Sasori decided to let it slide this time. Naruto leaned in and pressed an innocent kiss to her forehead. Sasori groaned as Deidara dug his fingernails roughly into his torn jeans. Deidara's heart was torn at seeing no retaliation from Sakura.

He offered Deidara his hoodie, which Deidara quickly took, shoving it over his head and tucking his blonde hair away. Sasori stood, watching Sakura the whole way while Deidara crept from under the table and dashed out the front door; the bell rang causing a few heads to turn. One of them was Sakura's. But what she had met eye-contact with was Sasori.

She couldn't keep his eyes off of him. Who was this stranger who was so intent on setting her on fire with his eyes? She shivered as he vanished behind the door, turning back to Naruto.

"Something wrong…?" Naruto asked. Sakura only shook her head a little. Sasori turned back to give her one final glance through the window.

"_She'll have to pay, too…" _

Deidara removed Sasori's hoodie, which was much too small for him, giving him a lot of difficulty getting it around his head and back to Sasori. Sasori pulled it back around his head, shoving his hands into his pockets, watching Deidara with a keen interest. Deidara turned away from Sasori's piercing gaze, tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

Sasori blinked a few times as he watched Deidara collapse to his knees, wrapping his arms securely around himself. The redhead's face fell; he didn't know what to do. He wasn't supposed to be having a sentimental relationship with Deidara, but he was starting to feel as if he was starting to have strong feelings for the blonde. It was just a deal, right? Deidara's life for Sasori's wishes. But Deidara looked crushed and helpless, the least he could do was comfort him.

He placed his hand on Deidara's shoulder, kneeling down beside him. Deidara turned up to look at him with a look on his face like he was a deer caught in headlights. Sasori immediately pulled back, getting to his feet again. He was surprised to find a smile on Deidara's face.

"Danna… will you come home with me for a bit…?" Deidara asked with a pleading look on his face. Sasori shrugged. Stubborn teenagers.

Sasori silently trailed behind him, looking up to the sky at the clouds threatening a heavy rainstorm. They were lead right back to the parking garage to the Volvo in the darkness just as the rain had started pouring. Deidara felt a heavy burden on his back when remembering the broken windows on either side. Sasori climbed into the passenger seat, stationing himself comfortably in the leather seats. Deidara had a feeling that Deidara had never once sat in a car this luxurious – if you could use that term for such a trashed hunk of screaming metal.

He heard Sasori give a quick yelp as they pulled out onto the main street of Konoha at fifty miles an hour.

"Why the hell are you driving so damn fast?!" Sasori yelled, shielding his face from the rain whisking through the open windows. Deidara felt a pain of guilt at seeing Sasori shiver like that.

"We'll be home soon." Deidara offered, turning onto the highway.

"Evidently."

Deidara couldn't help but laugh a little, but Sasori was glaring at him for doing so. He remained quiet after this, so the rest of the drive was in silence. They both pulled into the driveway, Sasori opening the car door and pulling his soaking wet hoodie off. They both walked into the laundry room, Deidara closing the door behind him and taking Sasori's soaking hoodie from him. He shoved it onto the living room couch and pushed Sasori into the kitchen.

Sasori couldn't keep his eyes on one object for more than a second. He had a nostalgic look on his face as he ran his fingers over the granite counter tops.

"I haven't been in a house this nice since I lived in Suna…" he whispered so quietly, Deidara didn't catch it at first. He suddenly felt like he had done something wrong by bringing Sasori into his house, but there was a smile growing on the shorter one's face.

Sasori wandered Deidara's house until he had finally reached the bedroom. He stopped and stared at the bed, his curiosity quickly fading and his eyes fixing darkly on the mattered sheets. Deidara advanced from behind him, feeling a jolt of embarrassment.

"Would you like me to cook you something?" Deidara offered, trying to pull Sasori away from the bedroom.

"If you'd like… you wouldn't mind if I used your shower…?"

Deidara felt a tinge of blush as he pointed to the bathroom. "It's there."

"I may be broke and live in a run-down apartment, but I know how to recognize a bathroom when I see one." Sasori said with a sarcastic tone. He walked into the bathroom while removing his black t-shirt, leaving a speechless blonde behind. Deidara was beyond tempted to follow Sasori, but he was able to mentally slap himself and drag his unwilling legs in the opposite direction just as he heard the water start.

The kitchen was so foreign to him. He hadn't cooked anything since he lived on his own; Sakura was always the one who cooked for him. He searched the cabinets, imagining restaurant-style dishes on Sasori's placemat, but his mind kept replacing them with dead rats and rotten chicken – he wasn't much of a cook.

He decided to pull out some leftovers from the Chinese Restaurant he had four days ago and microwave them. He quickly stashed the Styrofoam containers in the microwave, setting it for three minutes and closing the door.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around to meet the sandy brown eyes of Sasori. He almost stumbled back to him wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

"…Deidara… my clothes are wet…" Sasori said plainly, "…do you have anything to spare…?"

"…Y-yea… you mind watching dinner for me…?"

Sasori nodded and stared at the microwave. Deidara dashed quickly to his dresser, ripping his clothes out and throwing them onto the floor. He finally managed to find something in the smallest size he owned – Sasori was so small. He returned to Sasori's side, handing him the baggy jeans and red long-sleeved shirt. Sasori hesitantly accepted them, glaring up at Deidara.

"…What…? Are they too big…?" Deidara asked with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

"…Are you expecting me to drop this towel right in front of you…?!" he asked in a demanded voice. Deidara pulled back a bit, the red on his cheeks increasing. Now that Sasori had mentioned it, he was right.

"…N-not at a-all…" he said with a quiet voice. But Sasori was smiling.

"I would if you asked me to."

"U-un…?"

Before he could mutter another word, his lips were captured in a passionate kiss. Deidara had to bend down to reach Sasori's lips properly, and there was a great weight on the back of his neck since Sasori was practically hanging on to his neck like a vine. At one point, he felt Sasori's towel fall, causing the temperature in Deidara's cheeks to spike.

Deidara pushed his weight down on Sasori's mouth, caressing the redhead's lips. But Sasori didn't take this gesture like Deidara wanted him to. He had pulled away, looking down at his feet.

"…Is something wrong, Sas— …Danna…?"

"Sorry… it's my stomach…"

"…Hungry…?"

"…a little…"

Deidara sat him down at the table in Sakura's spot. Sasori seemed to notice this immediately, causing his smile to drop into a discontented frown. But seeing the steaming Chinese made his face bright up a bit.

"…Sorry… I can't cook… so I just went with leftovers…" Deidara said with his head bowed over the plate.

There was no reply. Sasori was too busy eating the soggy dumpling on his plate. The way Sasori ate was pitiful. Deidara felt as if he had dragged an orphan off of the streets. He ate slowly, his eye locked on the redhead as he devoured the last of his steamed rice.

Deidara finished his egg roll, soon finding Sasori staring pleadingly at the Orange chicken on his plate. Deidara, though he was hungry from watching Sasori devour his food that quickly, pushed his plate at the teenager, surprised on how quickly it had gone as soon as it was in Sasori's clutches.

He looked happy, at least. It was the first time he had truly seen a smile on Sasori's face like this. He gathered the plates in his arms and set them in the dishwasher.

"Hey, Deidara… I… I know its not Tuesday… but… would you mind…?"

He knew what was coming. Deidara grasped his arm anxiously and nodded. He wasn't sure what time Sakura would be getting home…

He turned off the kitchen light and walked into the bedroom, feeling Sasori's steps trailing silently behind him. This would also be the first time he'd seen Sasori so submissive.

Of course, he has spoken too soon. No sooner had the bedroom door closed had he felt Sasori's weight crash him against the wall. He could feel the pain in his head throbbing, still. Sasori pulled Deidara's already untied tie off, moving to the buttons on his shirt.

"…S-Sasori…!"

"I told you to call me 'Danna'." The redhead said curtly, undoing the buckle on the blonde's belt.

"H-hey…! Why're you always so hasty—?"

His words were silenced when he was tossed onto the bed. His head began throbbing again even though his mattress was so soft. Sasori was already over him, pulling Deidara free of his pants.

Sasori chuckled, thinking about how crushed Sakura would be if she saw this: her love, her life, in the arms of another man – no, a teenager. Sasori leaned down, grasping the shoulders of the struggling blonde and connecting their lips to keep Deidara from moving so much. Deidara calmed, kissing back. He felt something wet prod his lips, causing him to jump back. He had been kissed like this many times before, but Sasori knew too well how he ticked. Deidara had a weakness for him – any motion of affection made his heart melt.

He had grown used to the kiss, but Sasori never allowed him the satisfaction of the kiss he wanted. Sasori was on his neck now, sucking on the spot of skin he had chosen.

They both shot up at the sound of the opening garage. "D-Danna…! We have t-to…" But Sasori was smiling. Deidara tried to push Sasori off; Sasori needed to hide. The redhead was too distracted leaving another deep, red mark on his neck. "…N-no…! P-please…" he begged, but Sasori continued trailing his lips down Deidara's skin. Deidara wanted more than anything to carry on with this, but it was no mistake that Sakura had gotten home.

Sasori wanted to get Sakura's scent out of these sheets. Deidara was moaning, which was enough of a reason for Sasori to carry on.

"D-Deidara…?!"

That was definitely her voice.

"…S-Sasori… please…" Deidara cupped Sasori's cheeks in his hands, pushing him away to look into his eyes. Sasori had a different look in his eyes. His eyes were dark, mysterious, and filled with bloodlust. He knew what Sasori was planning.

"…S-Sasori… I'm b-begging you… I-I'll come over Tuesday…" he whispered, feeling Sakura approaching. He didn't want her to hear anything.

"Tuesday is too far away…" Sasori stated. "…you come tomorrow…"

"I've been skipping work too much… Tuesday…"

"…No. You come tomorrow. If you don't, you'll pay. Don't forget your deal with me."

Deidara whimpered. He felt Sasori's weight left off from him. He never saw where the redhead went, but he suspected that he was still in the house somewhere.

The door opened, Sakura standing in its way. Her arms were folded across her chest. Deidara sat up, thankful Sasori hadn't removed his boxers, or this would've been hard to explain to her. He stood up, looking over at her in attempt to read her expression.

She flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She was crying.

"D-Deidara…! Deidara… D-Dei…" she cried, gripping his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her, rocking side-to-side in attempt to calm her.

"…Sakura…?"

"O-oh, Deidara…!" she cried, looking up at him with teary eyes. "Please don't leave me…!"

He took a considerable amount of time thinking about this. But he managed to pull her closer as if to assure her.

Part of him was lying.

To make things worse, he soon found the both of them in a kiss. His eyes were wide. He wanted to pull away, but she was desperate for some assurance. Deidara couldn't close his eyes, instead, he saw a familiar shadow glaring at him from the kitchen.

Sasori was stabbing daggers into Deidara's eyes. He looked hurt, broken and, what Deidara was most afraid of, vengeful. He gathered Deidara's borrowed clothes in his hands and pulled them over his body, quietly making his way out of the door. Deidara wanted to break away and chase him down, but Sakura wouldn't let him go.

He needed to breathe. He needed to get away.

She pulled back, a terrified look in her eyes.

"You've been smoking, haven't you?"

Deidara's face went pale. He was glad it was dark enough in the room, but Sakura could easily see his reaction.

"It's that damn Shikamaru Nara, isn't it?!"

"…S-Sakura, listen…"

"Deidara!! What the hell has happened to you?!"

"…Sakura, I—"

"I don't want to hear it! Get out!" she demanded, throwing a pillow and blanket at him. "Sleep on the couch!"

Deidara didn't need to hear it again. He left the room, crashing on the living room couch. His hands brushed against something cold. He gasped and grabbed Sasori's wet shirt, burying his face in the wet cloth of Sasori's hoodie, taking in the delicious scent. His cravings to see him increased. Sasori was probably furious with him.

He took Sasori's hoodie into his hands and walked toward the garage, stepping into the Volvo and driving onto the abandoned streets, looking for any sign of his redhead lover. It was painful to drive the legal speed limit, but he needed to find Sasori; there was no way he made it so far on those scrawny legs of his.

It was two in the morning. He had checked all of the suburbs and soon found himself in the city. He was desperate – Konoha was dangerous. Sasori could be mugged or hurt. He soon found himself at Sasori's apartment door, relieved to hear the pounding of the base drums coming from down the hallway. How did he get home so fast? The bus systems don't run in Deidara's neighborhood and Sasori had no phone to call a taxi.

Sasori's door swung open right as soon as the music was turned down. Sasori didn't seem happy to see him at first until Deidara's arms were swung around his neck. "…D-Danna…" Deidara cried. Sasori was trying hard to gain back his breath from the death grip Deidara had on his neck.

"What the hell?" Sasori pushed Deidara off of him. "I was sleeping, you bastard."

Sleeping through that kind of music? Deidara looked down, handing Sasori the raggedy hoodie. "…Here Danna… you left this at my house…" Sasori hesitantly took it. "…Well, Danna… technically… its 'tomorrow'… and I'm here now…"

A smile sprouted on Sasori's lips. Deidara walked down the hallways and fell onto the couch, taking in the beautiful, familiar scent of Sasori's apartment. The scent grew heavier with the inclusion of Sasori's body. He buried his nose in Sasori's hair, feeling the teen's soft skin against his, the friction sweet and addicting.

Deidara fell asleep, feeling Sasori's fingers against his cheeks. It was as sweet as a lullaby. Sasori couldn't take his eyes off of him. He blinked, his fingers catching something foreign attached to his blonde's cheek.

It was a hair – pink. Sakura.

"…He's mine…" he whispered to himself, clutching the hair in his hand as if he were squeezing the life from her body, before tossing it to the floor.

He slowly slipped from Deidara's arms, careful not to wake him. Sasori covered the blonde with his thick comforter before he pulled the red shirt and baggy jeans back over his body and walked out of his door, his eyes bloodshot and a knife clasped tightly in his hand.

-:-

Author's note: Chapter two completed. Finally! School's got my cut down… It took me a while to finish writing this. As another side note: I HATE DeiSaku. There's a reason that I used that paring. Thanks to all of my reviewers! I'll update the third chapter as soon as I can!


	3. Misprize

Chapter three – Truth and Deception

-:- -:-

There was an ominous feeling beseeching the city of Konoha that morning. Deidara woke up with a lump in his throat, greeted by the sound of rain beating against Sasori's windowpane. The city was flooded in a thick fog, giving Deidara the impression that Sasori's apartment was the only building left in the abyss that was Konoha.

He was bare, buried underneath a sea of Sasori's comforters and scratchy blankets. Sasori's apartment was cold in the morning since the furnace was broken, but even the blankets didn't provide much comfort and warmth for him – he needed Sasori's body warmth, but Sasori was absent. It was a small apartment, so it would be hard to lose a person in it – then again, Sasori was also very small.

Deidara chuckled, remembering how small Sasori's body was compared to his. Sasori always got so angry with how delicately Deidara treated him – Deidara was afraid he might crush Sasori with his weight.

He could hear a guitar solo ringing from the headphones dangling from small CD player hanging on the back of the couch. Sasori listened to is music too loud. He rolled over, turning the CD player off and quickly ducking his arms under the covers again as soon as he felt the icy tear against the exposed flesh of his arm.

The door slammed shut. Deidara sat up so fast it was as if a spring in his back had just snapped. It was the only person he would have suspected walking through the front door – apart from the police.

"D-Danna…?!" Deidara nearly fainted at the sight of blood covering the front of his shirt. Sasori's eyes were dark, unfocused on the world around him. Deidara shot up, his body succumbing to the cold drastically. He shivered, wrapping his arms around Sasori's shoulders. His heart sunk and inch as he felt Sasori impatiently pry Deidara's fingers from his arm.

He pulled back a few feet, slipping past Deidara. He didn't dare touch the blonde, making Deidara feel like he was a symptom for the plague. Sasori ventured to the sink, washing his arms off with his freezing cold water – one of the reasons why Deidara never took a shower here.

"….Wh-what did you do…?!" of course there was no reply. There was a trail of blood leading all the way to where Sasori was standing. Deidara was still very sensitive to blood so Deidara had no choice but to stay away from the redhead. The blood drying on his arms were still surfacing Goosebumps and shivers. "Danna! Look at me!"

Sasori cast a gaze over his shoulder. The look on his face brought more shivers than the blood. Deidara tightly closed his lips, all thoughts in his mind vanishing too quick for him recall.

"I was running an errand."

Deidara didn't like the way he said that. Sasori walked slowly away from the sink, the red sleeves of his shirt proudly stained with a deep crimson, and that same pride reflected in his light brown eyes. The same gut feeling he had two weeks ago was resurfacing. Deidara felt as if he was in the house of a killer again. The person that he felt the safest around was making him feel like he wanted the floor to devour him; anything to get away from the chilling sensation surrounding the room.

"…D-Danna… what did you do with my clothes?" he wanted to go home.

"They're in the laundry room down the hall." He said simply, pushing Deidara back onto the couch, pinning his wrists above his head with a look in his eyes as if he knew that Deidara was planning escape. His only blue eye was widening with every inch closed between the two of them. Sasori's eyes were burning, the wickedness in the expression on his face bringing out the dark circles under his eyes.

"Don't forget: its Tuesday. You owe your day to me." Sasori purred so seductively, it was is he were a vampire looking down at his next frail meal.

Deidara found himself reliving the moments of when the two of them first met. His forehead was pressed against Sasori's chest in a desperate attempt to overpower someone who knew every gear and cog in his shrinking heart. His wrists were captive in a binding, almost painful hold.

Killers had to know their territory. They were experts in how to bring someone down. Sasori was an expert in Deidara's heart. Two weeks and the two of them were back at square one.

But he didn't know everything. The look in Sasori's eyes gave a clandestine gaze as if he knew something that Deidara didn't – and it seemed to amuse him. He guessed that it had something to do with the blood drenching Sasori's delicate arms. If he wasn't making such a scene about it, Deidara probably would've brushed it off, but Sasori was acting so ostentatious about whom he had killed, the blonde couldn't help but think that it was someone Deidara knew – or loved.

"…can't we go to lunch or something…?" Deidara begged, almost pleaded as Sasori's shirt was lifted from the redhead's tiny body. The shirt was big enough to cover Sasori down to his knees, so it was no surprise that it was the only thing he was wearing. Deidara found his face turning the same color as the shirt now lying on the floor.

Whether Deidara wanted for it or not, he found the two of them tumbling against the cushiony couch, their lips and gentle touches roaming each other's flesh. The sadistic gaze never lifted Sasori's eyes, but the redhead was still temperate with the way he treated Deidara. Deidara was just glad that he was never penetrated. Just feeling Sasori's body against his own was just enough for him. He noted how sweetly Sasori's vanilla-bean flesh mingled with the coppery taste of the blood left on his chest. The large scar on his chest was protruding against Deidara's lips. He didn't like the way it felt. He could hear Sasori's gentle heartbeat against the site of the wound, a slight smile appearing in relief to know that Sasori at least one.

The laundry was finished by six, but somehow something new had sprouted in attempt to keep Deidara from leaving the comfort of Sasori's apartment. They were sitting on the couch with their bodies wrapped around each other's embraces. Deidara's breathing was still heavy and his eyes were shut tight from weakness. His eyelids were heavy and his position so comfortable, he wanted nothing more to stay half-asleep in Sasori's grasp. At one point, Deidara's growling stomach had chased Sasori away to the kitchen. The stove was broken and his cabinets spacious, occupied by a few cans of outdated clam chowder soup and a jar of peanut butter. Sasori felt a sting of embarrassment when remembering the differently colored labels in Deidara's cabinets. He plucked the peanut better jar from the top shelf (with help from the countertop) and returned to Deidara's side with two, obviously, previously used spoons. Deidara hesitantly took the spoon and stared at his distorted reflection covered by the smear of a previously eaten food. He brushed it clean with the comforter when Sasori wasn't looking while the redhead coated the inside of his mouth with a giant spoon of peanut butter.

It wasn't a five star meal, or worthy of Sakura's cooking but he had to admit, it was still fun to lick the peanut butter off of Sasori's nose when he missed his mouth. The jar was half-empty when Deidara's stomach and taste buds had enough of the crude, revolting taste. Sasori had finished long after him, purposefully getting it on his nose so he could get Deidara to get it off. At one point, Deidara had gotten so sick of the taste, Sasori had to wipe it off with his blanket.

The clock hesitantly made its way to twelve p.m. Deidara stood to his feet and announced his departure, re-clothing himself with the now cold shirt and pants of his work uniform. It was best if Sakura thought he was working late on Tuesday. He stashed his badge in his pocket after stroking it fondly at the realization that he would be losing possession of it soon.

"Good night, Danna." Deidara muttered, giving him a half-hearted salute as he made his way toward the door. Sasori's face fell into a panicking frown as the kindness in his eyes retreated to make way for the same, twisted look.

He reached for the handle, suddenly feeling Sasori's breath against the back of his neck with both of the redhead's hands pressed against the wall at either side of Deidara, banning him from access to the hallway.

"Stay a little longer, won't you…?" he asked, nipping at Deidara's earlobe in hope to coax him back into his apartment. The blonde remained motionless, the numb side of his heart giving in and persuading moans between his lips as Sasori's warm tongue nudged against the sensitive parts of his ear. The other part of his heart was panicking again when it sensed the dangerous tone in Sasori's voice being masked by the heated sensation Sasori's clever tongue was leaving in his tender flesh.

"…_Leave, Deidara… get out… something's wrong here…!"_

"_But you have to stay… what can possibly be wrong with this…? Maybe just one more hour… Sakura won't miss you…"_

"_Sakura is your fiancée! NOT Sasori…!"_

"_But does Sakura make you feel this way…?" _

"_Does she make you feel afraid every moment you're not being pleasured by a TEENAGER?!"_

Deidara swallowed, turning the doorknob again in attempt to escape. Seeing this, Sasori took action. He captured Deidara in a bind, wrapping his arms tightly around the blonde's stomach. He was sure to get Deidara's arms caught in that same embrace to keep him from free use of his hands.

"N-no…! Danna, it's past twelve…! The deal was Tuesday…! That was our dea—!"

"OUR deal was that you do whatever I want in exchange for me keeping you alive." Deidara felt his face come in contact with the wall as his arms were twisted behind his back. He felt as if he were a criminal being arrested in the sense that Sasori was treating him.

"Troublesome clothes…"

Deidara felt a sudden chilly air arise in his body as his shirt was lifted free of his chest. A shrill shiver dashed up his spine, stealing him of his balance and forcing him to give in to Sasori's will. Sasori pressed all of his weight against him in attempt to keep Deidara from moving too much. Deidara was whimpering through pleas as he felt his pants slide down his body.

"_See…? I told you so…"_

Sasori slid his arms down the blonde's waist, tracing circles in his thigh. The second hand was pressed against the back of Deidara's neck. The blonde found his windpipe struggling under the pressure of Sasori's hand. He coughed out attempt to breathe. He could feel Sasori's lips against his shoulder, but it wasn't affectionate, it was like Deidara was something Sasori tasting, about to be devoured.

There was nothing but moaning and screaming after that. Sasori was blinded by ecstasy and Deidara found his heart slowly ripping out through his chest with every shot of pain Sasori had caused him. The pain in him was immense, but it was the pain in his heart that he found most distracting.

He was crying. Once Sasori had finally released one of his hands, he found it against the wall, cradling the many tears streaming down his cheeks. "…Sa-Sasori…. p-please… s-stop…!" he begged, sliding down the wall. Sasori wrapped his arms around Deidara's waist to keep him in place. Deidara found his other hand released, giving him a hand to hold him up off the wall.

He whimpered as he felt Sasori pull away, kissing the spot between his neck and shoulder. Deidara's eyes were wet with tears. He felt Sasori's thumb brush a stray tear away as he wheeled Deidara around to face him before capturing him in a kiss.

Deidara couldn't make himself kiss back. His lips were frozen in fear, giving Sasori the perfect opportunity to dominate his mouth with his tongue. Deidara was petrified when he realized how kind Sasori was to him again. His touches were gentler, as if to apologize. But this wasn't an apology Deidara would accept with just a kiss. He wasn't kissing back anyway, and Sasori was already coating his neck and collarbone in quick pecks from his lips.

"Hmph."

Deidara strayed away from his blank stare to look up into the disappointed stare Sasori was giving him.

"Maybe it would've been less painful if you had just agreed to it." Sasori growled, turning away a little.

"A-agreed to what?! You seem to like breaking contracts; I had to go home! You said Tuesday—!"

"Yes, I did, but would it hurt you to break schedule for a bit?!"

"I HAVE BEEN, Danna! I've been missing work to be with you, and in the end, you're ungrateful to what I've been sacrificing to be with you! I've been cheating on my fiancée to be with you!"

"M-me?! Ungrateful…?!"

"Yes, you, Danna! And don't you dare bring up that 'I promised I wouldn't kill you' bullshit! You're so selfish! You'll do nothing for anyone else unless it's in your favor in any way! I bet you've never cared for anyone but yourself in your life!"

Deidara stood there, realizing what he had just said. The look on Sasori's face was something he would've never pictured on him before. It was hurt, and Sasori looked as if he were about to cry. He wanted more than anything to take it back.

"…D-Danna, I-I…"

"Get out."

"Danna, please!"

"OUT!!"

Deidara jumped back as if someone had tied a rope around his waist and yanked it back so suddenly, he was unprepared for it. The blonde felt for the doorknob and pulled the door open, stumbling, naked, into the hallway. Sasori followed after him, throwing Deidara's work clothes and detective badge into his lap. Deidara felt a pained needled shoot through his heart when he noticed the clothes he had leant Sasori were in the pile.

"…S-Sasori-D-Danna…!" he called after the redhead's retreating back. The door slammed, speaking for Sasori in one loud bang. _'I never want to see your face again!'_

Deidara found himself curling against his knees right in the middle of the hallway. He could hear the sudden explosion of drums flooding through Sasori's closed door. He was wishing more than anything for Sasori to turn off his music and dash out through the door again, wrapping his arms around Deidara and accept his apology.

A few minutes of silence – apart from the music – passed. Deidara gave up his dream and walked out of the apartment, finding three new dents in his Volvo. He climbed into his car, a single light on Sasori's apartment catching his attention. He could see a silhouette behind the curtain that belonged to Sasori's kitchen-Living room. Deidara watched it silently until it disappeared in the darkness of the light switch. He found himself sitting in the car for a few minutes, another dream flashing through his mind of Sasori running out of the apartment and jumping through the window of the Volvo, flinging his arms around Deidara and begging him to stay for the night.

Ten minutes; No Sasori.

Deidara started the car after his ten minute stalling, only to be filled with disappointment. He drove home slower than normal that night. His only company was the roar of the engine and his second thoughts of turning around and begging Sasori for forgiveness.

The drove into the garage and turned the engine off. There were a few stray lights remaining on in the house, the laundry machine was going and he could still smell leftover dinner.

"Sakura-chan!" he called, dropping his jacket in the middle of the hallway. As he made his way, blindly down the dark hallway, he found himself wondering why the hallway wasn't as claustrophobic as the one he had grown used to. He spilled into the living room, looking around for his fiancée, checking the couch to be sure she hadn't strayed off to sleep waiting for him to come home.

"Sakura-Chan…!" he called again, pushing the door of the bedroom open. Sure enough, he could see her pale skin shining through the sliver of light pouring into the bedroom. He smiled and closed the door, careful not to wake her. Deidara slipped his shirt and pants and walked over to the bed to take his place next to her.

No sooner had he set his hand down had he found himself jumping up again. His hand was covered in something wet.

"_Did her water break?!" _

He stumbled over to the light switch, groping the wall for it. The room was quickly illuminated in light, causing Deidara's eyes to un-focus. He turned around, his eyes slowly adjusting to the light, but he didn't need perfect vision to immediately recognize the red sea staining his bed and the body of his fiancée. He fell to his knees at the sight, slowly crawling over to Sakura's corpse with widened eyes. "…S-Sakura…!" she was coated in gashes and bruises. But it wasn't the state of Sakura that terrified him the most, it was something else.

The writing on the wall.

**I told you that you belonged to ME!**

It was obviously written with Sakura's blood.

He had done autopsy reports before. There were bruises on her neck, meaning she had probably been strangled. The gashes on her forehead were from struggle and possibly a weapon to finish her off. The worst part was the gashes on her stomach. His baby, his own child, was dead. His fiancée, his love, was dead.

And it was obvious who had killed him.

"…S-Sasori…!!" he screamed to the wallpaper, scrambling to his feet and dashing out of the garage door. Deidara switched his Volvo into reverse and slammed on the gas pedal, lunging quickly out of the garage and taking out the mailbox behind him. He switched into drive and took off and high speed toward Sasori's apartment. Tears were staining his cheeks, and he quickly whipped them away with the back of his hand. He tried to keep his vision clear, but he was drowning in his tears.

By the time he had looked up, his headlights had caught something. He slammed on his breaks, finally coming to a stop and lunging forward, hitting his forehead against the windshield. He screamed in pain, seeing the giant welt on his forehead in the rearview mirror. Deidara leaned back in his chair. He looked through his cracked windshield at the figure stalking the front of the vehicle. The door of his car opened, but it was too dark to see anyone's face. All he could see is the clothes, but that was all he needed.

"…Sasori!" He lunged at the teenager, dragging him into the car by the hem of his pants. "SASORI KOU AKASUNA!" Sasori glared back into Deidara's tearing eyes. "I'M GOING TO KI--!"

"—You'll kill me, Deidara…? I'm right here… its dark, no one will see you…"

Deidara swallowed and wrapped his arms around the redhead, burying his face in her shirt.

"…Y-you killed her! Y-you killed her…!"

"I had to…" Deidara pulled away from Sasori, slapping the teenager across the face. Sasori remained as silent as ever, looking at Deidara with empty eyes. He didn't hit back or cry, he just stared at Deidara with a blank look as if there was something he was begging Deidara to understand.

"WHY?! I'M HUMAN, I'M NOT A POSSESSION! I DON'T JUST BELONG TO YOU!"

"…I want you to…"

Deidara froze, a strange feeling fill his heart. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't pity.

"There's something you need to know."

The blonde remained silent, turning away and allowing Sasori his words. The redhead closed the car door, positioning himself in the car before speaking.

"…It wasn't just you… who was doing that…"

What on earth did he mean by that? Deidara gave Sasori a look as if to urge him on. His impatience and pain was driving him now, even though part of him was happy he got to see Sasori again.

"...Drive back to your home… it would be easier to show you."

Deidara obeyed, making a u-turn and driving back to the house. He didn't bother parking in the garage, instead stopping halfway on the driveway and turning the car off. Sasori made his way toward the house as if he owned the place, Deidara's piercing gaze following behind with his silent footsteps.

They were both back at the, soon to be, crime scene. Deidara couldn't look, but he soon found Sasori's finger directing his chin and his eyes back to the bed. He grabbed Deidara's hand and led him around to the side of the bed by the sliding glass door. Deidara gasped, his hand jumping to his mouth. All of the pieces were coming together.

There was someone else there. He was lying on the floor, half of his body covered in bloody sheets. He didn't see the man's face, but the dark hair and strange hairstyle was enough for him to be recognized.

"Itachi's brother, his name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke…" he repeated, "I know… Sakura and Sasuke were going out in high school… then she went out with me in college… and I got engaged to her… but I couldn't help but think that… there was a part of her that still loved him. I guess I was right…"

Deidara looked down, avoiding Sasori's eyes. "…What about… my baby…? …You killed my baby…! She was s-six months pregnant…!"

"It's not yours. It's his."

Deidara flinched, looking down at Sasuke's back with a glare that could set his skin on fire.

He felt Sasori's hands gather Deidara's fingers together. "…D-Danna… what you wrote… it's too suspicious. If the police catches me, I'll be sent to prison…!"

"Don't worry…" Sasori whispered, leaning up on the tips of his toes to press a quick kiss to Deidara's bottom lip. "They'll be here to clean up the mess."

-:- -:-

Author's note – thank you all for my comments! They mean a lot to me! X3 But I've noticed a lot of you are bothered by Deidara's sudden change of heart – did you notice the second chapter began with a two week time-skip? It's there for a reason, my loves… but that'll come in later chapters – Deidara had doubtful feelings for Sasori after his first time seeing him. I blame all of the gore and stuff on my watching of Sweeney Todd like twenty times in the last week. I was gonna make this a really graphic Yaoi, but I decided otherwise at the last minute. If you're looking for the graphic stuff, read my story "The Dadaist." Yes, it was fun killing Sasuke. Sorry to all you Sasuke fans! I'll try and update as soon as I can. :D


	4. Typhoons

Chapter four – Typhoon

-:- -:-

It was Saturday.

He was frozen. Deidara refused to move from the spot on the couch. His eyes was the only thing visible through the sea of blankets he had buried himself under, but his eyes was so empty, Sasori felt as if he had a ghost living in his apartment with how still Deidara had been for the past few days.

Sasori slowly inched toward Deidara and placed his hands on the little amount of skin exposed from his back. Deidara shot up and looked back at him.

"You hungry…? I made oatmeal…" the redhead whispered, pushing a bowl of lukewarm slop before Deidara's nose. The blonde pushed away as if Sasori had just offered him a gun. The shorter one sat beside the lump in the couch and slowly devoured the oatmeal while his eyes scanned over the lifeless figure of Deidara in hope of catching glimpse of his eye.

It was days like this that made Sasori question why I cared so much for Deidara. The blonde had done nothing but sulk for the past week. The only activity the blonde got was the low grunts and nods he gave Sasori when asked a question. Sasori was annoyed that the two of them hadn't been so intimate with each other for the past week, so he was starting to return the cold shoulder that Deidara was so intent on giving him. Even though Deidara had forgotten about his love for Sakura, he couldn't escape the gory images that were implanted in his mind. Sasori had the feeling that Deidara was subconsciously blaming him for Deidara's pain.

Sasori paced over to the kitchen again and searched his cabinets for something else that would appeal to Deidara's taste buds, but all that littered his cabinets were expired chip bags and aged cans of tomato soup.

He jumped up onto the countertop and got to his feet to blindly search the surface of it with his hands. He cursed himself for his height as he strained to find what he was looking for. His hands caught the shape of porcelain as he pried it toward the edge to get better hold of it. Sasori silently slipped off onto the floor holding a porcelain pig in his hands.

The redhead sat before Deidara and pulled the cork out from its belly before dumping the shiny coins into the small square of carpet at the foot of the couch.

"…Deidara…. Let me take you to dinner… I'll pay…!" Sasori almost pleaded as he began counting the coins and separating them into piles.

Deidara cringed from under the covers and groaned in protest.

"Dammit, you stupid brat! Get out of my bed and get something to eat! You haven't eaten since—well, it's been over a week! No wonder you can't move… I'll carry you if I have to…!"

The blonde whimpered in reply and turned on his side, the sound of a growling stomach accompanying his cries. Sasori got to his feet again, gathering the coins in his hands. "…I'll buy you anything… anything… just eat…"

He placed the coins on the table and dug his hands through the pile of blamkets to find the paled face of Deidara. It seemed as if his eyes had grown bluer with the contrast of the redness surrounding them, and his golden blonde hair had lost its luster. Deidara quickly hid his face in shame, much to Sasori's annoyance.

Sasori growled and yanked the covers off to expose Deidara's face once more. He was willing to use necessary force.

"..No, Danna, please…!"

The redhead yanked Deidara from his sanctuary and out into the open, a hand darting to his mouth.

The unclothed Deidara fell to the floor, whimpering into the carpet as his captor looked down at him. Deidara was thin and sickly-looking, even worse than Sasori had imagined when he saw what little of Deidara's face the blonde had allowed. He got to his knees and placed his hands on Deidara's shoulders. "…You idiot…! Look what you've done to yourself…"

He pulled Deidara to his feet and wrapped an arm around his waist before sitting him back on the couch. Deidara refused to lie down seeing that he had already been caught. Sasori dashed over to the kitchen and tried to find something Deidara could stomach.

"…Danna…"

The redhead slowly turned toward the blonde, locking eyes with him.

"I'll buy… if you can take me…"

He walked back to Deidara and plucked him off of the couch before adorning him with a black shirt and pair of pants. Deidara forced his weight down on Sasori's shoulders and they inched toward the door. Never had Deidara been so angry with Sasori's apartment being on the second floor. Going down the stairs was slow and Deidara could tell that Sasori was losing his patience with constantly having to catch Deidara when his footing had grown loose, but never once had Deidara fallen, which only reminded him of how strong Sasori was for his age and build.

By the time the two of them had reached the curb, Deidara felt something heavy hit his stomach, but it wasn't sickness. The two of them were in the middle of a place in Konoha where no busses passed and Deidara's car was totaled. He didn't even know how the two of them managed to get home.

"…Danna… how're we gonna get to downtown…?"

Sasori didn't wait a moment's hesitation before he pulled Deidara up onto his back. "…just hold on…"

Deidara raised an eyebrow, but obeyed Sasori's order by wrapping his arms around Sasori's neck. "…Danna… it's easily five miles from here to midtown…"

"I know."

"You can't carry me the whole way there…"

Sasori never replied, just took hold of Deidara and bent his knees a little. Deidara raised an eyebrow, but he was quickly succumbed by a sickening lurch in his stomach. He closed his eyes, expecting to be sick, but the sickness was quickly replaced by a strange feeling and the wind blowing through his hair. He slowly opened his eyes as another lurching feeling took over his stomach. He gasped at the realization that Sasori and him were soaring over the city. Sasori's feet came in contact with the street, to where he quickly pushed off of the ground to take to the air again.

This wasn't human. He had never seen a human run or jump this fast in his life. Was it dream? He may still be sleeping back at Sasori's apartment.

The wind came to a halt as the familiar sound of car horns and footsteps crowded his ears. He opened an eye to find them two of them in an alleyway. Sasori slowly placed Deidara back on his feet, watching the blonde sway before collapsing against his chest.

They spilled into the streets and walked the sidewalks to a coffee shop across the street. Deidara sat in one of the rosy-red comfy chairs by the fire to warm himself after being exposed to the chilling wind. Sasori returned to Deidara's side to steal away his wallet before turning back to the line at the register.

Deidara happily sipped his coffee. The hot liquid was soothing in his throat and stomach, which made it easier for him to eat the sandwich half Sasori chose for him. Sasori hadn't the taste buds for coffee, so he went with a Chai tea. One thing that Deidara had noticed about Sasori since the day they had met was the rehead's fondness for sweets, so it was no surprise that Sasori had bought himself a cinnamon scone to accompany his chocolate and whipped cream decorated tea.

"…Danna…?"

Sasori looked up from the warm cup in his hands.

"…how did you do that…?"

"Do what, Deidara?"

"…the flying thing…"

"It's a long story…" Sasori replied in a monotonic manner as he took another sip of his tea.

"We've got the time, Danna."

Deidara took a bite of his sandwich as Sasori's gaze settled on the fire, his eyes aflame. He sipped his coffee, patiently awaiting a reply. It never came. When Deidara asked for Sasori's attention again, he brushed it off with a quick change of subject.

"I'm glad you're eating again. How's the sandwich?" Sasori asked in a strange tone since he was dying for an answer to keep Deidara from asking more questions.

"wha—? Oh, good… I really like it…" Deidara said thoughtfully as he pulled the lid off of his coffee to swallow the last few drops of it.

"Shall we go home now?" Sasori asked hopefully with an almost desperate tone in his voice since he had been deprived of Deidara's touches for over a week. Deidara picked his teeth with the tiny plastic sword from his sandwich before Sasori finally got his reply of "yes".

The ride home was faster than the first one since Deidara had a happy stomach and had started to grow used to the gliding motions Sasori made when hitting the pavement. By the time the two of them were back in the apartment, Deidara had already collapsed on the couch. Sasori sighed; Back to square one.

"Good night Danna…" Deidara said with a pleased sigh before he closed his eyes.

"…but…" he broke his intended sentence with a sigh, "…okay… good night…"

Sasori went over to the kitchen and pulled out a pillow from one of the chairs before laying on the armchair opposite of Deidara. He opened an eye when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Deidara gazed down at him, calling Sasori to his feet. The redhead obliged and followed Deidara back to the sofa. The taller collapsed on the couch and waited for Sasori to take his respected spot against Deidara's chest.

It was easier to fall asleep that night with Deidara's fingers brushing over his neck. Sasori disliked the predictable feeling of his desires not happening that night, but Deidara's scent was captivating, so it seemed to keep him asleep.

Sasori woke up late that morning, finding Deidara's eyes staring him down with a sleepy gaze as his fingers traced unidentifiable letters and shapes on the back of his neck. One of Sasori's perks was his hatred of being awakened before eleven o'clock, but Deidara's internal alarm clock was six-thirty because of work. He didn't want to disturb Sasori, so he spent the morning slipping in and out of consciousness while he tickled the hairs on the back of Sasori's neck.

Sasori groaned to inform Deidara of his awakened state. The blonde smiled, "good morning, Sasori." the redhead groaned again, but he was silenced by another kiss, to which he melted into Deidara's lips. The kiss was heaven, being able to taste Deidara's lips again. But a taste wasn't as satisfying as Sasori wanted since Deidara had pulled away before it got too deep.

"I love you Danna…"

The other groaned and buried his nose in the other's neck with annoyance. Deidara sighed and wrapped his arms around Sasori's back again, disappointed that he had never got the reply he wanted.

"…Deidara…"

The blonde's eyes lit up again as they locked with Sasori's. Their faces inched closer, Sasori's lips twitching slightly as his hands wrapped around Deidara's neck. The blonde tried to pull his face back in hope that Sasori would be talking, but in the end, he had lost the battle. Their lips connected again and Sasori instantly took control.

He fell back against the cushion as Sasori rolled on top of him and began stripping Deidara of his clothes. It was inevitable once Sasori takes his place on top of Deidara, and he hated that Sasori's idea of "I love you" was "You're mine and only mine, now drop your drawers". He pressed his hands against Sasori's chest and parted his lips for Sasori's tongue. He got lost in Sasori's moans and disconnected as he found himself being controlled by the pain and pleasure Sasori sent through his nerves.

The week's end had been cruel to him. Sasori had lost himself as well in the tangle of bed sheets and flesh, so much that the amount of pain he was capable of causing Deidara was forgotten.

"…D-Danna… S-Sa…sori…!" Deidara pleaded, shoving Sasori's chest away to get his attention. "Get off!"

He forced his might against the smaller boy and managed to overpower him enough to get Sasori off.

"What the hell, Deidara…?!"

The blonde stood and gathered his clothes, forcing them on as he made his way to the front door.

"Deidara! No please! Don't leave!" Sasori called after him, dashing after him and grabbing the blonde's wrist. Deidara wrenched his wrist away and searched reached for the closet door to get back his jacket.

Sasori slammed his back against the closet door to keep Deidara from opening it.

"Danna! I'm leaving! I'm going home. Now let me get my jacket!"

"No… I can't let you leave…"

"Why?! Why can't you? Is it because you'll be missing your precious sex-toy?"

"…n-no… tha-that's not it…" Deidara narrowed his eyes at Sasori's stuttering words. The redhead swallowed his words as if he were staring down a gun. Sasori felt a pain in his heart at the realization that what Deidara had said was mainly true. He was incapable of truly loving someone and Deidara knew that was the weak spot in whatever relationship the two of them had.

"I don't need my jacket…! You can keep it. Have sex with that!" Deidara barked, causing Sasori to flinch.

The blonde stormed out of the apartment complex with tears prickling his eyes. This may be the last time walking down that skinny hallway or seeing that flickering chandelier over the staircase. He pushed the thoughts away and stormed onto the streets as the tears began to fall.

He was interrupted by the melancholy tune of his cell phone vibrating in his back pocket.

Deidara flipped it open half-expecting it to be Sasori's apology as he brought it to his ear, but upon hearing his boss' voice on the other end of it, his heart sunk a little.

"Deidara." The gruff voice of Deidara's boss, Kakashi Hatake called from the phone.

"Yes, sir!" Deidara said sniffing to compose himself.

"Your partner, Shikamaru. He's missing."

Deidara instantly felt faint at these few words. "Chief…! Where was he—? He's… how…?"

"We're not sure. He vanished on us a few days ago. He said something about a personal-investigation against someone, but no one's been able to pick up any additional information on why or who this person may be."

Deidara's eyes widened as he slowly brought the phone away from his ear to look up at Sasori's window.

_I TOLD YOU THAT YOU BELONGED TO ME._

"…Deidara…? Are you still there…?"

He shook his head as the puzzle pieces came together. He pulled the speaker back to his lips and gasped, trying to find the right words. "Chief… I need you to meet me number five Madison Drive in the rundown district of town with a full force."

"Is something wrong?"

"…please hurry." He pulled the phone away and pressed the off button before dashing back into the apartment complex. I guess he'd have to see that skeletal hallway one last time.

"Danna! Open the door!" he begged. He figured he'd have to keep Sasori distracted until the cops arrived.

And the only distraction worthy of Sasori was pleasure.

There was no response. Had he left? Maybe be had heard Deidara on the phone… any man who could run that fast and jump that high definitely had the ability to hear things from a block away. He didn't wait for a response just in case Sasori had gotten away, and pushed the door open.

"Dann—" he froze, his stare locking with a pair of deep red illuminating eyes from across the room. He barely had enough time to get a full picture of the shady figure before it evaporated like a shadow into thin air. Sasori was standing right behind it.

"…What the hell was that…?!" Deidara gasped since he had held his breath since the moment he saw whatever it was. Sasori shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

Deidara brushed it away and decided it best to keep to the task at hand: distracting Sasori.

"Sasori, I—"

He was silenced again, this time by the gesture of Sasori's arms flying around his waist and tugging Deidara into an embrace. Deidara's jaw dropped at the sound of hearing Sasori's dry sobs echo into his shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Deidara… I'm so sorry… please don't leave me… please don't leave me…"

His heart sunk at hearing this, but as soon as he met Sasori's teary eyes, he remembered the last time he had seen Shikamaru. Rage burned in his stomach, but he urged his body to remain sentimental toward the miserable redhead. "It's okay, Danna…" he stroked Sasori's light, feathery hair and smiled down at him. "Don't cry…" he added while he brushed Sasori's tears away.

"…I love you, Deidara… please don't leave me…"

Deidara froze and looked down at Sasori with a shocked gaze. This was the first time Sasori had ever admitted this to him. He wanted to reply, but that would only make him feel guiltier about calling the police.

"I love you…" Sasori repeated sadly.

The silence was quickly broken by a haze of police sirens calling over the city streets. Deidara swallowed in fear in case Sasori would find him out, but the redhead continued to sob and chant his confession against Deidara's shirt.

"I love you!" he cried, pulling Deidara free of his shirt. The blonde blinked a few times and allowed it off as he watched Sasori strip before him. He felt the tingle of blush grace his cheeks as Sasori pulled at the hem of his pants. His touches were doing their magic again and Deidara soon found himself drowning in another dimension of fantasy.

Sasori fell back into the couch, pulling Deidara on top of him. Deidara could hear the police sirens, but something was keeping him locked in a kiss with the redhead teenager. They tangled themselves in a fit of moans and touches, slowly entering another dimension.

Sasori's moan slowly escalated into something more painful sounding. All they were doing was kissing. Was something wrong with Sasori?

"…no… please… stop…" Sasori slowly cried.

"…Stop? Danna… is something hurting you…?"

The red and blue lights of police cars threw their spinning colors through the room, spilling their glow onto Deidara's paling face. He could hear the police marching up the stairs now. Deidara tried to lift himself off of Sasori, but the redhead has his waist captured by his legs.

"No! Please! STOP!" Sasori screamed, thrashing his head from side to side.

At last Deidara understood what Sasori was planning. He tried to pull away, but his arms refused to move. He tried to move his legs, but they were paralyzed. Sasori hasn't holding on to him anymore, so why couldn't he move? His eyes widened when they caught sight of a series of glowing blue threads snaking tightly around his wrists. The threads were cold at the touch and tingled every nerve in his arm. The threads slowly got thinner and thinner with every attempt for Deidara to move until they got to the point of invisibility. Before they thinned, he was able to trace them back to Sasori's fingertips.

The threads around his wrists tightened again, drawing blood as they tore rigorously through his fragile flesh like white hot knives. He let out a cry of pain as tears formed in his eyes again, but Sasori was screaming louder than he was. He felt the tingling feeling arouse to his mouth, handicapping his ability to talk.

A fist pounded against Sasori's door. "Open up! This is the police!" It was no doubt Kakashi's voice.

"Help me! Someone help me! PLEASE!" Sasori pleaded through tears.

Deidara could hear footsteps pounding against Sasori's door as the police began kicking the door down.

"HELP!"

BANG.

'…_No… please… don't… Sasori…!'_

BANG!

"…Help me…!!"

The door caved in and the police spilled into the room with their guns armed. The scene was frozen, apart from the police lights spinning through the curtains.

"…D-Deidara…" it was Kakashi, his mouth agape. Sasori was crying.

Deidara felt the threads vanish from his wrists as he got to his feet, collapsing before his superior with his lips stationary, open in shock.

He had seen many before him get arrested, but he would never expect once in his life that he would be on the other side of it. His wrists were coated in blood, ad the cold metal of the handcuffs stung against his raw flesh. Sasori had a blanket wrapped around him, his face buried in his knees while he cried uncontrollably.

The police allowed Deidara to put on a pair of pants before they headed toward the door pushing Deidara roughly before them like a rag doll. The blonde had just enough time to turn his head over his shoulder to glance back at Sasori before he was escorted away.

And Sasori was smiling.

-:- -:-

Author's note: Sorry this one took so long… I know it's been almost a month since I've updated my story. I had many ideas about what to do with this chapter, but no idea how to start it. Anyway, please read and review! They keep me writing! Edit: I went through and edited the chapter since I'm prone to make a lot of typos… mainly because I was a writing this chapter while watching Cloverfield… and I was distracted. Kinda wrote this one quick.


	5. Anachronism

-:- -:-

Chapter five – Anachronism

-:- -:-

He had lost count of how many days had passed since he had seen Sasori's face.

He was as cold and lifeless as the stone walls around him, so it was easy for him to blend in with his surroundings. He was hungry, but more than anything, he was angry. The anger drowned out the pained feeling in his stomach enough to stop him from physical suffering, but the mental suffering was enough to make him want to die.

The only person he could think about was Sasori, but it was undecided whether it was due to his extensive loneliness or his broken heart. It wasn't his sweet smiles and fluffy, light red hair he remembered the most, it was that sly, sadistic little smirk he gave Deidara after his betrayal.

Sasori had eluded him. This was just affirmation of Deidara's paranoid thoughts that Sasori had never been in love with Deidara, but his body. The redhead was addicted to pleasure and Deidara was his drug. What was different about him and Deidara was that Deidara was actually in love with Sasori to the point where his obsessive love had stolen his fiancée, his child, his job, and worst of all, his heart. Sasori had manipulated Deidara just as easily as he did with any other of his victims, but Deidara's death was slower and more painful.

The police had searched Sasori's apartment, but found nothing to confirm Deidara's claim of Sasori's responsibility of Shikamaru's death. Either way, he would still be going to prison for getting caught with a minor. Konoha didn't bother with a trial since there were too many witnesses to Deidara's "crime". The blonde was fuming with anger from how foolish he had been to let himself get caught like that. If he had just stayed still, he wouldn't be here. Sasori would.

His heart hurt, still. Part of him wanted so badly to forgive Sasori, but he knew if he did, Sasori would just use him and throw him away again. The redhead was selfish, and more than anything, a coward.

At least he'd have twenty years to think about it. Maybe by then, Sasori would be older and wiser. They could start up again.

"No! I don't want to see his face ever again!" Deidara screamed at his thoughts, beating his fist against the tray of untouched food. The fork clattered onto the floor, followed by Deidara's foot. "I'll kill him! I'll kill him when I get out of here! I'll break his heart just as he did to me!"

The walls echoed his words and forced them back at Deidara's heart, or what was left of it. It took a while for his words to soak in, but when they did, he became angry with himself once more. He could never _kill _anyone no matter how much wrong they had done to him. He was trained only to kill when an officer's life was threatened.

But, then again, he wasn't a detective anymore. He wasn't even worthy of being called a criminal. The only name he could think for himself was "fool".

The wind outside his barred window howled again. He was forcefully reminded of how cold it was in his cell. He tightly hugged his skinny, deteriorating body in hope of conserving warmth. He was still in the same outfit from when he had left Sasori's house – pants only. He glared up at the night sky and the moon flowing through his window. If the moon went down a little, he could at least get some sleep. His only sanctuary was his dreams, but the moon seemed bent on depriving him from false happiness.

Perhaps he could have another dream about Sakura and the day the two of them first met. He laughed at the thought of how much of a klutz he was.

Deidara came from Iwa after his father got a new job offer in Konoha. Sakura and him met in high school the first day he arrived. He was walking to his physiology class when his shoulder bumped against something and he toppled onto the floor. When he regained his clear vision, his eyes fixed on the most beautiful girl he had ever met.

Her name was Sakura.

Everything was automatic afterwards. They stayed good friends until college when he proposed to her. She had always been so supportive of him and his career, but she never thought about pursuing one herself. Once she became pregnant, she made the decision to become a stay at home mom.

Then there was him.

Sakura had broken up with her old boyfriend a mere three days before she had met Deidara. But something told Deidara that she had never gotten over Sasuke. Sasori was the one who had confirmed that. She had always been acting peculiar when Deidara had gotten home from work. When he had come home, she was always cleaning or making the bed, even after Deidara knew she had already made it that morning. Her excuse was always her pregnancy making her tired, but she ignored his questions after answering that one.

It was unclear to him as to why he had gotten so attached to that kid. Sasori always enjoyed manipulating Deidara. He reminded Deidara of a character pulled out of a murder movie, but there was another side of him that only Deidara was able to see. Something about Sasori being an orphan fascinated him since Deidara's mother died when he was young, followed by his father in a car crash.

The redhead was rough and merciless. Deidara's job mesmerized him because he always liked to put himself in the mind of criminals to find their motivation or reason. Sasori was his favorite to study.

Sakura had drifted away from Deidara ever since he got accepted as a detective for Konoha. With all of the late nights he had been pulling, she started saying no more than a few words to him. Dinner was just a "how was your day" kind of thing, but they never really talked to each other after that. Sasori was different. He liked in-depth conversations, no matter how awkward they got.

Plus, Sakura had never let him go to the ultrasounds. She always pushed Deidara away when they were having conversations about her baby. She even threatened to call their marriage off. There were days where she would disappear on him after an argument. She claimed to be staying at her mother's or at a hotel, but he now realized she was talking about Sasuke's house.

Sasuke was part of the noble Uchiha family who owned a large corporation in Konoha. Many in Konoha said it was the backbone of their city, but after it fell bankrupt, the city suffered greatly financially. It is said that one of the sons of Uchiha Fugaku disappeared after it went bankrupt, but returned two years later and assassinated every once-powerful member of the corporation.

The man who goes by Uchiha Itachi vanished after that. Even now, he remains one of the top most-wanted people on the Konoha's Police's Most Wanted Criminals list. Deidara imagined seeing Sasori's face on it after they figured out that he had killed the third Kazekage.

He silently wondered if Sasori had fled the city after this or if the redhead remained in his scrawny apartment room. Sasori would have to be a fool to stay in this city with a spotlight on him and Sasori was no fool.

A cloud drifted across the moon, giving Deidara some peace of mind to consider sleep. He got to his feet and walked over to his dusty cot, collapsing on it and watching the tiny dust particles shoot up like ash from a volcano. They fell around him, teasing his nose and forcing a sneeze. He sniffed and closed his eyes, hiding them under his hair in case the moon decided to come out of hiding again.

He finally managed to find some sleep, but it was dreamless, much to his dissatisfaction. Once and a while, he'd get flashes of people's faces cross his mind, but they were too quick to identify. He rolled over in his cot as a sliver of the moon's light pierced his eyelids.

A new face flowed into his mind, but this one stayed longer than all of the others. It was a silhouette, but he knew there was something familiar about it. The figure slowly opened his eyes, which were an intense blood red color. Deidara cringed in slight discomfort, staring down those dreadful, intimidating orbs.

"Deidara."

The blonde's lips remained stationary in fear, too afraid to reply to it. Those eyes had swallowed him whole and were drowning him in fear.

"Deidara." It repeated. The voice was so monotone, almost robotic. There was no anger or frustration in it, just an unemotional note calling his name.

He shot up, hearing the sound of metal on stone. He was panting, still short of breath. That dream was so real… too real.

He wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, trying to calm his breathing in the process. His hands brushed against something hard. He felt at the metallic figure, picking it up to examine it. It looked an awful lot like a knife, but more rounded. It looked like something you would pull out of a martial arts movie. Yea, this was definitely a dream.

"Deidara."

He found himself unable to move. There was that voice again. Maybe he hadn't really woken up. Maybe he was still dreaming. He swallowed hard as a shiver ran up his spine, darting his eyes across the room to check for the source of this mysterious voice.

His body fell cold as soon as he met eyes with a dark figure looming on the other side of his barred window. There were those eyes again, the pools of blood staring Deidara down and making him wish he could just disappear.

Maybe his hunger had just made him delusional. He could imagine who strange it would be for someone to pass by and hear Deidara talking to himself, but they probably hear it coming from these solitary confinement cells all the time. He blinked a few times, but the shadow never vanished. This was not a dream anymore.

"…Who the hell a-are you?" he said, trying to sound confident so the figure didn't think he was some pathetic weakling.

"It's not important right now, Deidara." It replied. The voice was low enough that he had to guess it was the voice of a man.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, adverting his eyes to gain more poise.

"That is also not important."

He growled slightly, realizing none of his questions would be answered, so he decided to attack from a different angle. "Okay… then what is important?"

"I've been requested by a certain someone to break you out." He replied.

Deidara looked back at him, a questioning look on his face.

"…who—?"

"That's not important either"—Were these the only fucking words he knew?!—"now I need you to listen carefully." As if he had a choice in the matter. Deidara nodded in acknowledgement, waiting for his instructions. "I need you to get as far away from this wall as possible."

He raised an eyebrow but obeyed the order, pressing his back hard against the wall opposite of the window. The shady figure vanished from his line of sight, but he could still hear the man's footsteps dying away from over his heavy breathing.

"AMATERASU!!"

His voice shattered through the night, but before Deidara had a questionable thought, the wall began caving in from what appeared to look like flames. There was barely any light coming from the flames; they were as dark as the night itself. It took only a matter of seconds for a large whole in the wall to appear and at last he could see the man standing on the opposite side of it.

"Come now." He ordered, but Deidara remained stationary, too afraid to approach both this man and the unearthly flames. He was a statue, quivering under the element of fear.

As if the man could hear his thoughts, he gestured Deidara on. "Come, Deidara. I have no intention of causing you harm."

This seemed to help a little. The blonde pushed himself off the wall and slowly, but steadily made his way toward the gaping whole, climbing through while trying to avoid the flames licking at the structure. He held his breath and quickly jumped through a fireless portion of the stone and spilled clumsily onto the dew-coated grass, panting.

"Get up. Unless you want to be caught." The man ordered again, still with that same robotic tone of his.

Deidara slowly got to his knees, almost stumbling once he had straightened himself. He wasn't used to standing yet, and finally catching glimpse of the man's face nearly made him stumble again.

He was tall, his hair the color of a raven's feathers. His eyes were no longer blood red, but complementing his hair color. It looked as if he were crying since he had what looked like black tears strewing down his pale cheeks. His cheeks were engraved with a crease on either side, which made him look a little older than Deidara would guess his age to be.

"Good. Now hurry."

He turned his back to Deidara, taking off in a run. Deidara had difficulty keeping up with his malnourishment and he kept losing sight of the raven-haired man. He made his way toward the gate where he was waiting for Deidara.

"The guards will no doubt see us when we get over this wall. You'll have to keep up." He whispered, staring up the, at least, three-story wall.

He held out his arm for Deidara to take. He hesitantly grabbed it with both of his hands and gripped tightly to the fabric of his shirt. He blinked a few times, his eyes catching sight of what looked like a tattoo of a red cloud, lined with white borders. But he had no time to get a full glimpse of it before he felt that familiar lurch in his stomach as they both took to the sky.

They leaped over the wall, Deidara nearly losing his grip on his jacket a few times before they both landed on the opposite side of it. The landing seemed like nothing to the raven-haired man, but feeling gravity again was torture for Deidara, causing his knees to buckle and his face to painfully meet with the pavement of a sidewalk.

The night sky quickly vanished as a bright light fell upon the two of them. Deidara could hear guards shouting from all around them, sirens sounding all around the prison grounds. "Tsk." The man cursed under his breath and forced Deidara back on his feet. "Get on my back."

Even in this kind of situation, he was still calm. The blonde hesitantly and awkwardly climbed onto his back, vaguely reminding him of the time when Sasori carried him like this. The stranger took no time waiting for Deidara to make himself comfortable before he began running, even faster than Deidara remembered Sasori doing.

The city was just a blur of lights and colors around them; nothing was identifiable at this speed. He could hear car horns and people talking, but it was all so miscellaneous that it sounded so distant over the whistling wind in his ears. All he could see was the back of his captor's head through all the confusion.

When they began coming to a slow, Deidara realized they were in his neighborhood, parked in front of his own house.

He was dropped on his feet again.

"This is as far as I take you. The red car across from your house is hot-wired. You will use that as your getaway. If you use your car, the police will catch you. Get what you need and find somewhere to hide. Do not stay here."

And he was gone. The man vanished as soon as he was finished speaking, leaving Deidara alone once again.

The blonde took no time to question what was happening since he knew the police would be at his house soon. He entered his garage door code and slipped under a small crack of it before going to his house door and closing it again.

His house was still lighted as if nothing had been touched. He could still see evidence of the police being in his house from the night of Sakura's murder, but he pushed it away and ran into his bedroom, stripping himself of his old clothes and putting on new, more comfortable ones. He scrambled around his bedroom, slipping his hand under the mattress of his bed and pulling out a small black leather case. Deidara flipped open the silver knobs and shakily placed the key in the keyhole, pulling the lid open to reveal a 9mm handgun. Deidara swallowed and shoved a case of bullets into his back pocket before abandoning his bedroom and running for the front door.

He departed quickly, leaving his front door open as he went to the red Volkswagen across the street, which was already running. He slid into the driver's seat, discarding his seatbelt, putting it in drive and slamming his foot against the gas pedal.

The car gave a quick lurch and eased swiftly into its master's demands, taking off down the street at eighty miles per hour. He passed by a twenty-five mile per hour sign before making a left turn to get on the main street toward the highway with one hand on the steering wheel and the other multitasked by forcing the bullets into the gun.

He reached the city in a matter of minutes, passing by all the careless pedestrians and stopping at every red light he came to. He felt safer in the city, at least.

He headed north and watched as the crowds dispersed, the fancy cars turned into station wagons and the buildings began deteriorating. He turned onto Madison Drive and parked his car parallel to number five before cocking his gun and getting out of the stolen car.

The front door creaked open and Deidara slowly made his way up the staircase with his shoulder millimeters from the wall. He walked down the second floor hallway, pass the flickering and dead ceiling lights until he reached the door at the very end of the passage.

Deidara swallowed, pulling the gun up before he positioned himself in front of the door, ready to kick it down. It wasn't until he noticed that the door was already a crack that he put his foot down. He tucked the gun away, noticing the room was pitch black.

He pushed the creaking door open just enough to slide his skinny figure through it before closing and locking it behind him.

Deidara slowly made his way down the hallway, his hand resting against the gun in his pocket.

"Welcome back."

He gasped, feeling two arms fling around his neck and waist. There was no mistaking this to be Sasori. He was careful to keep the gun hidden in fear of Sasori turning the tables on him again.

"Well, Deidara… what have you come to do to me now?" he teased, leaning down to nip at the flesh of Deidara's neck.

"…Sasori Kou Akasuna…" Deidara growled, wrenching the redhead's arms away. Sasori stood back, hearing the seriousness in Deidara's voice. Deidara's voice was raspy, serious and so unlike him.

The only light source was that taunting full moon streaking its light through Sasori's open window. It was just enough for Sasori to catch eye of the gun inches from his forehead. Deidara moved forward, keeping the gun against Sasori's forehead while using his free hand to lift Sasori's baggy shirt off of him. Sasori seemed to catch on to what Deidara wanted since he had begun to slip his pants off of his legs. He was blushing, but most of the redness under his eyes probably was because of the tears.

He was cold, naked and defenseless, unsure of what Deidara was planning to do to him. "…no… Oro… please…" Deidara heard him beg, but he brushed it off as nothing and stayed on target.

It was so sweet, being able to see fear in Sasori's eyes this time. Deidara smiled, his eyes filling with some unknown, raw emotion. "…You." Deidara warned. That one syllable was enough to fill Sasori's heart with enough terror to draw more tears.

"…D-Deidara… wait, y-you have to let me explain first…!" Sasori pleaded, his body pressed so far into the wall it was as if he were the wall itself. His eyes were noticeably contracted and quivering. He wasn't sure whether to stare Deidara or the gun down. Either way, he was going to lose.

"I don't want to hear it, Sasori. You're a manipulative, cowardly bastard! You broke my heart." Tears began streaming down Deidara's face, but it was undecided whether it was from fear, revenge or torment. Sasori's throat was bone dry; he dare not move a muscle. Deidara directed the gun from Sasori's forehead to his heart, leaning in so his face was inches from the redhead's. Sasori pulled further away to avoid anything from happening.

"…Please, no… Deidara… I-I'm sorry…!" Sasori grabbed the front of Deidara's shirt, pressing his forehead against the blonde's chest and spilling his tears into the fabric. "…I'm sorry…!"

"Oh, right!! Just like you said you loved me?!" he barked, causing Sasori to cringe.

"…I-I do love y-you… I wasn't lying…! …I-I wasn't lying…"

"BULLSHIT."

Sasori cringed again and sunk further against Deidara's chest. "…please… no… stop…" the redhead begged, closing his eyes as Deidara started squeezing his finger against the trigger. "…please… please…" More tears formed in Sasori's eyes. "…please… I love you…"

And then silence fell. The scene was frozen. He pulled the trigger, hearing a gut-wrenching noise of contact of bullet and flesh. Sasori slowly fell onto the floor, his eyes wide open with that same fear lining every feature on his face. His warm blood poured into the carpet, wading at Deidara's feet.

And the room was filled with his last, dying breath.

-:- -:-

Author's note: THE END. No, I'm kidding. I'd be evil to end the story here. I feel so happy updating two chapters in a week. :D But, like the last one, it was quickly written so there will probably be a lot of typos. If I make any that really bother, let me know… I'll update soon, so keep your pitchforks to a minimum… I don't want to be killed… XD It'll get better, I promise!


	6. Enlightenment

-:- -:-

Chapter six – Enlightenment

-:- -:-

He dashed onto the street and fell against the curb, coughing up bile onto the pavement. It was no surprise since he hadn't had anything to eat in god knows how long. His shirt was soiled with fresh blood and pleading tears. He was holding Sasori in his arms.

The boy was limp, lifeless. It felt irregular not to feel Sasori's breathing. Usually when they were lying like this, it was wrapped in each other's arms with their chests rising and falling in rhythm. It was a rather lonely tempo, hearing only his heartbeat in his ears.

"…I'm so sorry…" Deidara whispered against Sasori's tender forehead. "…please… wake up…"

A rumble of thunder sounded from above them and the city was soon bathed in an icy rainstorm. Sasori's face was wiped clean, his blood running down the curb side in crimson waterfalls. Deidara shivered and pulled Sasori's clothes-less figure closer to his chest, longing for the redhead's warmth.

"…_Please, no… Deidara… I-I'm sorry…!" _

"_Oh, right!! Just like you said you loved me?!"_

"…_I-I do love y-you… I wasn't lying…! …I-I wasn't lying…"_

The thunder broke across the horizon again, causing the glass windows to quiver from the heavy vibrations. Sasori's face was illuminated by a second strike of lightning, his half closed eyes black as coal and empty as an abyss. His expression was hard to read, apart from the fear that had been permanently imprinted on his pale, once pink, lips.

Sasori always looked so peaceful when he slept, which is why Deidara used to watch him sleep in those five morning hours after he had awakened. He always looked so innocent and untainted. It was moments like those that wiped Deidara of every bad memory he shared with Sasori, but seeing him in this state, with his hands bathed in the redhead's blood, only brought them back.

His blonde hair slowly turned crimson with the rain transporting blood along the curb. The rain was no help with Sasori's skin temperature, but it was still as cold as ice, even before Mother Nature had taken her toll. It was like laying ice against his neck, having Sasori's forehead pressed against his skin like that.

By this time it was raining so hard, Deidara couldn't tell whether the droplets on his cheeks were his tears or raindrops.

Everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes was still fresh in his mind and haunting him like the plague: The drive here, the way Sasori had greeted him, how quickly his expression had changed, and finally, the gunshot. It wasn't until after Sasori was dead had Deidara's conscience returned to him.

He remained with his face buried in Sasori's reddening hair, sobbing hysterically through the rainstorm. It was just another nightmare, and one he wanted more than anything to wake up from. The prison, the arresting, the killings… maybe it was all a nightmare… maybe he'll just wake up in Sasori's apartment with his arms wrapped his living, breathing, frail figure.

It to have been a nightmare…

"…shit. You really fucked up."

Deidara snapped back into reality, finding the rain to have stopped pouring on the both of them. Sasori was still lying on the pavement, which eliminated his optimistic idea that it was Sasori's voice that he had heard. Instead, it seemed to have come from a man standing under a rather large umbrella. Of course, his face was masked by shadows, so it was difficult to get a glimpse of his face.

"…ugh… there's blood everywhere…" the figure spoke again. He lifted one of his feet and shook the moisture off of the bottom of it, flinging blood onto Deidara's face. "…you've really got yourself into some deep shit here, blondie."

Deidara blinked a few times, getting to his feet and abandoning the lifeless corpse at his feet to get a better look at this man who seemed so familiar with him.

The man lifted the umbrella a little, allowing the light from one of the street lamps to make way to his face.

He seemed rather elegant, and very handsome at that. He shared Sasori's smirk, but his hair was contrasting – silver, almost to the point of being white. It was sleeked back with so much hair gel, Deidara thought that he would get enough to style his own hair if he were to just lay on a hand on him. What was also peculiar was the color of his eyes: purple. He had that same cocky, confident air around him, as Sasori did, which gave him the assumption that he knew Deidara through Sasori.

Sasori never admitted to knowing anyone but Deidara, although this man seemed to have a bit in common with the redhead.

"…shit… Pein's gonna kill your scrawny little ass when he finds out…" he said, looking down at Sasori with that same smile. It was neither happy nor remorseful, making it hard to read.

Something about hearing this name 'Pein' made his skin crawl. "You're so damn lucky I found you first. Sasori had a feeling you'd do something this stupid… guess he was right…"

He was speechless.

"Haha… cat got your tongue?" he laughed, showing somewhat of a true smile. How on earth could he find this amusing when all Deidara could do was cry?

"Who the hell are you to think you can just march up and start talking to me in such a manner?!" Deidara barked in frustration, hoping to faze his smile a bit. It was starting to grow annoying.

"Woah…! …calm down—" he had to have been insane to stay this "—but if you are so damn persistent, my name is Hidan."

It was more of a rhetorical question, but it was nice to get an answer from at least one of these shady characters who keep popping up around him.

It felt as if something hard had hit the back of his mind at a sudden realization that came to him.

"…w-wait…!" Deidara pleaded.

Hidan raised an eyebrow, too lazy to respond with words.

"Do you know someone with raven-colored hair and bloodred eyes?"

The white-haired man gave a half-hearted laugh, his shoulders shrugging a bit. "You must be talking about Itachi. He was the one who broke you out of prison from what I've heard. So, what did you do to get yourself caught up with the law like that?"

Deidara ignored his question and proceeded to asking more of his own. "He was ordered to break me out?"

Hidan shook his head, though he didn't seem to mind that Deidara never answered his question. "No, he was asked. Sasori may be high-ranking, but he's not worthy of ordering any of us around."

"…_Sasori asked of this?!" _

"Yeah. Doesn't that make you feel bad about killing him now?"

Deidara felt as if someone had just dropped a weight on his heart and crushed it flat. Sasori wasn't as bad of a person as Deidara had thought during those few weeks he spent in prison.

"Point being, I'm here to take Sasori back. We can't have anyone discover his body or they might find out too much." Hidan bent down and picked up Sasori, hoisting him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Seeing this made Deidara's stomach burn with anger.

Hidan turned his back to Deidara without any gesture of goodbye, walking to the edge of the block and leaving the blonde caught in the rain again. Deidara sighed and turned his back; he'd have to find somewhere else to hide if he were to stay away from the law. He could probably find a way to get back to Iwa.

"Hey, blondie!"

Deidara rounded on his heel to find Hidan standing before him again, Sasori still sagging over his left shoulder. "Are you stupid?" What kind of question was that? "You're supposed to follow me. You can either come with me, or you can run off. If you do run away, I guarantee, we'll get to you before the police do, and our punishment won't be as lenient."

The blonde swallowed, inching toward Hidan. The silver-haired man turned his back to Deidara once more, calling Deidara to follow him. Deidara obeyed and trailed silently behind, his eyes locked on the wilting head of Sasori bleeding against Hidan's shoulder.

"Hidan." He called in almost a whimper.

"What?"

"Could I carry him…?" He felt sorry for Sasori, even though he was dead, and hated to see him so poorly treated by someone who had no regards to whether he lived or died.

Then again, this was coming from the man who killed him.

Hidan shrugged and tossed Sasori off of his shoulder, holding the redhead up by a tuft of his hair for Deidara to take. He quickly dashed forward to take the small boy into his arms, trying to fight the impulse to slap Hidan across the face in the process. He carried Sasori bridal-style, watching Sasori's head bounce up and down in rhythm with Deidara's pace.

He was led by Hidan into the even deeper northern parts of the town. This part of town was abandoned by almost everybody. Gangs came here as their meeting places, judging by the variety of graffiti decorating the walls. If Konoha was graded by every part of its city, surely the magnificence of it would deteriorate as quickly as any of these buildings.

They rounded an alleyway and walked into a narrow passageway, lined with graffiti-covered walls and dumpsters. Each step drew them further from the moonlight and deeper into the darkness. It got to the point where Deidara was having difficulty seeing where he was going. He stumbled a few times, but he refused to meet the pavement with Sasori in his arms.

He made his way through the alley by ear since Hidan dragged his feet when walking, but his white hair was a wonderful contrast to the darkness for him to follow. But when Hidan had stopped, Deidara lost his sight and bumped into his back.

"Watch it!" Hidan barked. Deidara said nothing.

They were standing before a wall. Hidan seemed to understand what was going on since he was standing so still. Deidara was straining under Sasori's weight after carrying him for the past half hour.

"…Where are we…?" Deidara asked, holding Sasori's head against his chest.

Hidan never answered, he only put away his umbrella, unleashing the rain on their shivering figures again. He held two of his fingers before his nose and bowed his head. To Deidara's astonishment, a ring on his index finger began glowing. Now that he thought about it, Sasori wore almost the same ring on his thumb.

The ground began rumbling, followed by a loud rumble of thunder. Deidara gasped as the wall before them began sinking into the floor. The rumbling ceased, giving the two of them just enough room for an average-sized man to fit through. He gulped and watched Hidan slip through the gap. Deidara was hesitant to follow Hidan though, careful to keep Sasori's head from hitting the brick wall on either side of them.

He landed on solid ground just in time for the wall to shut again. There was no going back now.

He made his way down the hallway, finding Hidan to have disappeared. Deidara carried Sasori down the corridor until he came in contact with a door. The door swung open before he had chance to reach for it, and he soon found himself standing before that same raven-haired figure who had broken him out: Itachi.

Itachi was much taller in person, and much easier to see with the light around him, but he hadn't the time to be focusing on Itachi since he just came to notice six other pairs of eyes on him.

There was one man who was entirely covered in a mask, making it hard to notice anything about him but his green eyes; another had blue skin, and then there was a third with white and black skin, a man with long, black hair and purple markings around his yellow eyes; another who had abnormally blue hair – she was also the only woman he saw here so far, and lastly, Hidan and Itachi.

"…He's dead…" he heard one of them say – the black and white skinned man. "Well, apparently if he's bleeding like that." That voice also seemed to be coming from the same person, but the tone sounded very different from the first. His heart gave a leap when he heard the same person say something like "He looks delicious." He subconsciously pulled Sasori closer to his chest.

The girl with the blue hair placed a hand over her mouth and quickly departed the room. A few of the others' eyes followed, but most were stationary on Deidara. This didn't help with his discomfort – he barely knew any of these people.

The black-haired man, who wasn't Itachi, couldn't keep his eyes off of the two of them. Deidara noticed the others were too busy whispering to each other and once and a while, threw them looks to confirm their gossip, but this man didn't talk to anyone. He didn't blink, he only seethed through his downward-curved lips as he watched Deidara and Sasori with enraged eyes. Deidara turned away from his gaze in fear that his knees would buckle from fear.

The door opened again, the blue-haired girl reentered, approaching Deidara. She stretched her arms out to take Sasori into her arms, to which Deidara hesitantly obliged to doing as he stole a glance at that same yellow-eyed man to be check if he had found something better to stare at. He was still staring at Deidara as if it would catch his hair on fire.

"Follow me." He heard the girl say quietly before leading him through the same door she came through. Deidara was quick on his feet to avoid staying in the others' stare for too long. She shut the door behind him, leading him into another hallway. This one had many doors to it, distributed on either side of the hallway save the one at the very end of the corridor.

She led him down to the door at the very end, much to Deidara's resentment, and knocked its wooden surface.

"…Pein-Sama… permission to enter?" she called quietly.

Hearing that name made the vein on Deidara's neck start panicking. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears when he heard a voice reply with "granted" on the opposite side of the door.

She pushed the door open and bade Deidara to follow.

"Bring him here." Deidara heard the same voice say. The girl placed Sasori on a table, but it was too dark to see anything besides the light's reflection from the hallway lights in Sasori's lifeless eyes.

"…Sasori…" Deidara whispered, bowing his head a little.

"You may leave now, Konan." The one called Pein ordered. The blue-haired woman, who was know known as Konan, bowed a little before she left, shutting the door behind her and leaving Deidara alone with this man he had grown so fearful of in the half-hour he'd known him.

The lights flickered on, temporary blinding Deidara. He blocked the light with his hand, but quickly removed it when he noticed Pein standing before him.

Pein's hair was styled in a bandana around his hairline where his spiky, orange hair was protruding from. His eyes didn't look human; they were grey and reminded Deidara of a vortex with they way he so easily fell, terrified into their depths. His nose was lined with a number of abnormal and painful-looking piercings, which just made him look more intimidating. Now all he needed was a tattoo.

"So, you're the one who killed him. Deidara, is it?" Pein said in a smooth, unemotional tone. Deidara was almost wishing he would yell instead of speak like that so his heart would stop panicking. It was more of a statement than a question, obviously, because Pein seemed to automatically know that it was him.

"…Yes… s—" he was considering adding the 'sir' after his answer, but he decided against it at the last minute. Pein sighed and turned his back to Deidara, resting a hand on Sasori. He began mumbling to himself about something, but all he was able to catch was 'Konan' and 'medical'. He hated seeing Pein touch Sasori like that – so lightly. He was burning with jealousy to the point where he preferred the way Hidan was treating Sasori to Pein.

"He seems to be in shock… I think this would be the fourth time… his kanji is starting to resurface again…" Pein said in a whisper, but loud enough for Deidara to hear, so he was unsure if he was supposed to hear it in the first place. "I'll have to go get Konan…"

Pein quickly departed, shutting the door behind him. Deidara could hear Pein's footsteps wandering down the hallway, but he waited until he was welcomed with the utmost silence before he approached Sasori's body.

"…Danna…" he whispered, leaning down and tracing the redhead's lips with his finger. He let his eyes outline Sasori's body, his eye catching a dark bruise over Sasori's right chest plate. "…oh, Danna… I didn't do this to you, did I…?" he asked, resting a hand against it, only to quickly pull it away after feeling an extreme amount of heat coming from it. His fingertips were red, almost as if he had just placed them on a burning stove.

He sighed and leaned over Sasori's lips. He was too afraid to touch them since he could already sense the frost emitting from his skin. "I'm sorry, Danna… I don't know what came over me…" he sighed; seeing Sasori this close was reminding him of the nights they spent together.

Maybe just one more kiss.

He leaned in, closing the gap between them and with a swift, hungry movement, reclaimed Sasori's lifeless lips. He slipped his hand along his cheek. Tears formed in his eyes as his kiss grew more desperate, longing to be kissed back.

He pulled away, resting his forehead on Sasori's neck as his tears began flowing faster. The tears slipped down Sasori's pale neck, falling to the floor. Deidara clung to Sasori's fingers, tightening his grip as his gasping escalated into desperate whimpers.

"…please… please wake up…! I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…!" he pleaded, lifting his head to look at Sasori's face. There was no response. "…Dammit! Sasori Kou Akasuna! O-open your eyes!"

He forced his lips against Sasori's once more, this kiss more violent as he pried the redhead's lips apart with his tongue. It was like kissing stone with how cold the inside of Sasori's mouth was, but he found a way to block it out. Nostalgia began flooding back in. He still tasted the same, but it wasn't as warm or as sweet as he remembered. But it was still as addicting.

"…wake up…" he whispered, drawing his tongue back into his mouth, but careful to keep their lips pressed closely together. "…please…"

He felt something brush against the back of his neck. His hairs stood on end as his eyes fell closed. He felt a single breath against his lips, "stubborn brat." A finger brushed the tears away from Deidara's cheek, causing a moan to build up in the back of Deidara's throat. Sasori leaned up, caressing Deidara's lips with his own.

His lips were warm again. The taste had become more tantalizing. He moaned and wrapped a hand around the back of Sasori's neck, dueling with his tongue. They stayed locked together for what seemed like an eternity. They kissed like they had never before. Deidara felt as if he could carry on forever, if not for Sasori pulling away from his lips again.

"…Danna…" he moaned, keeping his eyes closed. If this was a dream, it was one he never wanted to wake up from.

"Deidara."

The blonde opened his eyes, letting go of Sasori's hand. It fell back, limp onto Sasori's chest. He turned around to look at Pein and Konan, tears still in his eyes from the ones Sasori's fingers had forgotten.

"…are you okay?" Konan asked. "We came in here and heard you talking to yourself…"

Deidara shook his head, turning back to the redhead with tear filled eyes. He was still as lifeless and still as he had been the moment he was killed. Deidara reached up and touched his lips. There was no way that was fake… he felt Sasori's breath… he tasted his lips… they were warm.

He turned back to Pein and Konan, trying to brush his tears away.

"…Perhaps… I should take you to your room…" Konan offered, pulling Deidara by the shoulder to the door. She pushed him out of the room before Deidara could look back or question her, forcing him down the hallway and into one of the small rooms on the left side in the middle of the hallway.

"Here. You can have his room…" she said, showing him the door. She smiled softly and turned her back to him before vanishing behind Pein's door again. He barely had a chance to see Sasori's figure behind it before it was closed again.

As soon as the door was open, he was welcomed by that familiar smell he had grown so used to in Sasori's apartment, making him feel right at home. He flipped in the light switch, scanning Sasori's bedroom carefully.

It was bigger than his apartment room, though it contained no kitchen or living room attachment. It was simple: a bed in the left corner with grayish sheets and pillows decorating it, a desk opposite of it, littered with papers and books that Deidara recognized from Sasori's coffee table back at the apartment; a bookshelf next to the desk, and a closet littered with dirty and clean clothes. What was most interesting about this room apart from his apartment was the number of wooden marionette parts scattered all over the floor. Deidara never knew Sasori had such an interest in the hobby before.

He hauled the closet door open to look for a pair of clothes to change in to. Sasori had always been rather disorganized when it came to his residences since none of his clothes were up on a hanger, but scattered all throughout the closet floor. He simply plucked a shirt and pair of shorts at random to change in to them. Sasori's clothes were small on him since most of his stomach was exposed when wearing the shirt he chose, but he was glad he was skinny enough to be comfortable in them. Anything that smelled like Sasori was comfortable.

Deidara collapsed on the bed, burying his nose in the sheets and breathing in his scent. It was sweet, but there was something else there that made him uncomfortable. He couldn't describe it, but it just made shivers crawl up his spine when breathing it in.

Only when he looked up had he noticed the bedroom door had opened. In its place stood one of the men that had been staring at him when he first walked into this place. He was the one that had scared Deidara the most: the long, black-haired, yellow-eyed man who had been watching him like he was a dessert he was about to devour.

"Good evening, Deidara. I trust you find your accommodations to your liking?" he gestured, not taking his eyes off of Deidara. Deidara didn't like this way this one spoke. It was smooth, seductive but dangerous sounding.

"…very well, thank you…" Deidara said, cramming a pillow over his exposed stomach when he noticed that the newcomer wouldn't keep his eyes off of it. To his horror, the man pushed himself off of the wall and made his way toward him, all while closing the door behind him. Deidara scooted back from his spot on the bed to the very edge of it to avoid getting to close to him.

"Oh, how rude… I didn't introduce myself…" he said, sitting on the opposite end of the bed. "…You can call me Orochimaru. I'm Sasori's partner."

Deidara arched an eyebrow, watching Orochimaru carefully as he slowly made his way closer to Deidara.

"…and you must be the infamous Deidara… Sasori spoke so much about you." Orochimaru said, inching closer. Deidara pulled away. He didn't like this new tone Orochimaru was using with him. "…hm… I can see why he likes you so much… you are quite the handsome blonde…"

He flipped a lock of Deidara's hair between two of his fingers, bringing it to his nose and inhaling the scent. Deidara couldn't guess that it smelled too good since he'd been lying in the street only an hour ago, but Orochimaru seemed to like it.

"You're Sasori's… partner…?" he asked, slipping his hair out of Orochimaru's grasp.

"Why, yes, I am. Which is why I wanted to come talk to you about something." He smiled an obscenely grotesque smile that brought a very unpleasant shiver up Deidara's spine.

In an instant, Deidara's wrist was trapped above his head and pressed painfully against the wall behind him. He screamed in agony, hearing his bones cracking in protest of this uncomfortable position. It wasn't until when he opened his eyes that he realized that Orochimaru was right up against him, his face inches apart from Deidara's. He was close enough for Deidara to count every line on his face, curving downward into a seething expression.

"Let's get something straight, Deidara," he hissed, "I know what you and Sasori have been doing, and unless you want the both of you to go through hell, you'll listen to me carefully."

Deidara swallowed, his bottom lip quivering in fear as he watched Orochimaru with a frozen expression. He slowly nodded in acknowledgement, waiting for Orochimaru's terms.

"I want you to stay the hell away from my partner. If I catch you two together, I'll be sure the both of you will have enough bruises to turn your pretty pale skin bluer than Kisame's—" Deidara silently guessed he was talking about the blue-skinned man he saw earlier— "Do you understand?"

He nodded again, feeling his wrist release from Orochimaru's grip before he tumbled to the floor in a mangled heap.

When he had looked up again, Orochimaru had gone. Never in his life had he been so happy to be alone.

That night before he had fallen asleep, he recognized Orochimaru's scent in Sasori's bed sheets.

The next morning was slow-moving. Deidara mainly stayed in Sasori's bedroom, poking around his books and notes. Sasori was a very good artist. He had found Sasori's sketchbook buried under his stack of college textbooks. It was mostly filled with sketches of the human body with little sub-notes added to it about poisons and traps and hidden compartments. When he had flipped to the back page, he found a figure who looked oddly like the third Kazekage. After further reading, he noticed the name "Sandaime" pop up a few times, meaning his assumptions were true.

Sometime toward mid-afternoon, Konan had entered Sasori's room to pick up Deidara. Deidara was nervous about coming out of what he had deemed as his sanctuary from the other members – especially Orochimaru – but he was glad he did.

Konan brought him back to Pein's room, where lay Sasori in the same place Deidara had left him last. He was wrapped in some sort of clothing, like a robe since Pein had grown tired of seeing him naked, but what was really important was the heart monitor standing by Sasori's side.

It was beeping again.

Deidara could have cried out for joy if he wasn't in the company of Konan and Pein.

"He's fine, Deidara. He came to last night while you were sleeping. I was going to wake you, but you looked too peaceful to disrupt." Konan began.

"…but… how…? He's been dead…"

"He'll have to explain it to you when he gets up. But don't push it, Deidara, it's his choice whether he wants to or not. The subject is a little touchy with him." She warned, shaking a finger at him like she was his mother. He nodded in agreement and took a seat beside Sasori. Konan gave a small smile before she escorted Pein out of the room to leave them alone.

He wanted to badly to kiss him, but when his eyes rested on Sasori's lips, he remembered Orochimaru's threat. _'If I catch you two together, I'll be sure the both of you will have enough bruises to turn your pretty pale skin bluer than Kisame's!' _Deidara dropped his head to resist temptation, but hearing Sasori's breathing again only increased his desires.

He decided it best to wait. He didn't care if he got hurt, but Orochimaru had threatened to inflict pain on the both of them. Deidara had done enough to Sasori already, and vice versa, the last thing they needed was another component to their troubles.

"…Deidara…?"

Sasori rolled his head to the side to look at him, his eyes glazed over with fatigue and still succumbing over the fear from their confrontation the pervious night. But he had still managed a smile, which because contagious for Deidara that very same second.

"…Danna… listen… I'm sorry about what—" Sasori raised a hand and pressed it against Deidara's lips to keep him quiet.

"I don't want you to be using those lips for talking right now."

Deidara's face turned red as Sasori's hand slipped down Deidara's pulsing throat and retreated back to his side. Deidara got to his feet and hovered over Sasori's lips. They both breathed in the moment, being able to feel each other's skin again. Sasori's hand found its way around the back of Deidara's neck before pulling him down to reunite their lips. Deidara cupped Sasori's face in his hands, staring off slowly to get used to the overwhelming sense of pleasure before spiraling into more violent gestures.

Once they pulled away, they were both short of breath. Sasori panted feverishly against Deidara's lips, his breath ragged as he tried to maintain control of his lungs. Deidara refused to go anywhere further than that one-inch gap between him and Sasori.

Sasori forced a silent laugh through his breathing.

"Wha-what…?" Deidara asked, opening his eyes to look at him.

"…my shirt doesn't fit you too well…" Sasori replied, fingering the Konoha Vintage Baseball Team shirt that Deidara was wearing.

"Not my fault you're so scrawny…" Deidara said, leaning in to nuzzle Sasori's nose.

The redhead groaned and turned away, insulted by his height.

-:- -:-

Author's Note: Something told me I should update as soon as possible… 'Cause all those death threats are starting to scare me… O.o Please note: Rating has been changed to 'M' due to language and (possible) future sexual violence.

I had to throw a fluffy moment in there somewhere… I figured with the two-in-a-row cliffhangers I gave you guys, you deserved to have a chapter that ended on the right foot. Again, I make typos… D: (_**EDIT**__: fixed them! Thanks for your help, guys!_) I'm just trying to get as many chapters in as I can. One, cause I'm bored, and two, because I have to go back to school tomorrow. I don't get much writing done during the week… and I don't like keeping my fans waiting!

Sorry to all of you who want to kill me for killing Sasori… I didn't want to… he's my favorite character, but I wanted some DRAMA, ACTION and ANGST.

Reviews keep Kishimoto from killing off the Akatsuki, so REVIEW! XD (I with this were true… T-T)


	7. Blood

-:- -:-

Chapter seven – Blood

-:- -:-

A single eyelid flew open and Deidara's eyes immediately locked with the pale white, sleeping face of Sasori. He guessed by the stillness and the quiet that it was early morning. His eyelids were heavy, but the pain in his back and hips seemed to be the culprit of his early rising. The two of them fell asleep on top of a table with only a thin sheet and body heat to keep the two of them warm.

Deidara carefully rolled over onto his back and stared up at the dim amount of light on the ceiling. He heard Sasori's faint groan of disapproval as one of his hands fled across Deidara's bare chest and slid out from under his shirt. The table was perfectly fit for Sasori's petite size, but Deidara was at least a foot-and-a-half taller than the redhead and barely fit without curling his knees in.

He slipped a hand against Sasori's bangs to expose his forehead for a quick kiss, but gravity retaliated and covered the pastel white skin again. In the few nights since his confrontation with Sasori, every unconscious and waking moments were filled with nightmares about finding Sasori dead again. He knew how annoyed Sasori would be if he were to wake him hours before his waking curfew, but just hearing the redhead's breathing wasn't enough to convince him.

His hand slid from Sasori's forehead down to his scrawny shoulders to shake him awake

"…mm…mmff…" an eye cracked open, meeting Deidara's eye with a glare. Upon seeing Deidara's smile, his eyes eased a bit.

"Hey, Danna…" Deidara greeted with a weak, shaking voice. The redhead's eyes fell closed again while a silent groan escaped through barely parted lips.

"You woke me up, you brat." He muttered while trying to slip back into unconsciousness. Deidara turned over on his side again, propping himself up on his elbow.

"I know… I just wanted to make sure you're alive." Deidara said as-a-matter-of-factly. Sasori couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm fine, Deidara. You can't kill me… even if you tried."

There was a long period of silence after that. By the time Deidara got the courage to speak, he couldn't find his voice again and he wasn't sure if Sasori had fallen asleep.

"Danna, could I ask you a question?"

The redhead opened his eyes again, looking at Deidara with a serious look as if he knew what was coming.

"How are you… who you are…?" Sasori raised an eyebrow, trying to play it off as if he didn't understand the question, but Deidara knew better.

"It would be best if you asked someone else that question." Sasori rolled over onto his other side, showing the blonde his back to avoid answering any more questions. Deidara sighed and stared at Sasori's back, regretting asking that question.

"Sasori…"

He moaned in response, obviously close to following asleep. His first attempt at getting Sasori to turn around failed. Deidara repeated Sasori's name again, earning the same response. The blonde sat up and hovered over Sasori to meet his closed eyes. Feeling Deidara's presence, Sasori's eyes opened once again. The smaller boy groaned at the taller man, opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm trying to—" Deidara pressed his lips menacingly against the other's "—sleep…" Sasori finished with a tinge of red brushed across his cheeks.

"I know…" Deidara cooed, bringing their lips together again.

The door flew open merely a second later, followed by the light switch. Deidara sat up instantly to find the identity of the intruder.

"Please get a room."

Deidara huffed, biting his tongue to avoid reminding Pein that they had one before he barged in. He was still grateful that it was Pein, as opposed to Orochimaru. The orange-haired man was accompanied by Konan. She immediately crossed over to Sasori's side, gesturing the bare, clothes-less redhead from under the sheets. A shiver instantly sprawled up the redhead's spine when his skin was exposed to the colder air. He reached for the sheet and wrapped it around his body before following Konan out of the room.

"What are you doing…?" Deidara demanded at Pein. The pierced man raised a hand to silence Deidara. Deidara bit his lip to stop the insults forming in his mind.

"Relax. It's just a physical examination. He has to take them regularly for the next week. You can have him back in an hour or two."

He hated how blunt Pein was with him. There was still a lot of tension between them. For the sake of his tired state, Deidara decided to spare another argument by sitting on the table and staring at the opposite wall. Much to his surprise, Pein took a seat beside him.

"Deidara. You're wanted, I hope you know. You can't go back home." Pein began after moments of silence.

"I know." Deidara replied, annoyed that this subject was being brought up again.

Pein decided to attack it from a different angle. "Deidara. I want you to join us."

Deidara scoffed a little, disgusted by the idea. Still, Pein persisted.

"You have no choice. You already know who we are—" _'not really, no…' _Deidara thought. "—and where we reside. You're wanted. You have no choice."

He kept quiet even though he knew it was true.

"Even if I joined, I don't have the same abilities as the others. I can't run faster than a few miles an hour… I can't jump very high…"

"I could fix that." Another scoff fled from Deidara's mouth. Pein couldn't help but smile. "You don't believe me…?" Pein questioned. "How do you think Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu got their abilities?" Deidara didn't speak, mainly because he had no idea how to answer the question without sounding stupid. "I lent them my abilities and they developed on their own."

Even though he hated to admit it, he was curious to hear the rest of the story. Pein seemed to catch on, as Deidara could hear the pierced man draw in a deep breath to begin speaking.

"I'm sure you've figured out already that we're not normal. We can run faster, jump higher… disappear." The hand gestures Pein made along with his words were beginning to annoy the blonde. "Any human has the ability to do this."

'_I must not be ANY human then.'_ Deidara thought, though his lips threatened to say it aloud. Instead, he said something more polite so as not to make Pein any more annoyed with him. "How is this possible?"

Pein seemed to be pleased that Deidara had asked this. "Chakra."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like witchcraft."

The Leader sighed, looking for an alternative to explain this. "There are three kinds of people in the world: People who have the ability to awaken their chakra themselves, People who awaken theirs through other people, and people who do not know of their chakra." That made Deidara the third person. "People who have awakened their chakra are called 'Akatsuki'. At present, most of the Akatsuki are in my organization."

"What are you?" Deidara asked. A blunt question, but he hoped Pein understood what he meant.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Another blunt, boring answer. He heard Sasori say "they" a lot, so he assumed these people were the "they" he talked about. So the "who" of the matter was answered, but the "what" was what was now bothering him. It was obvious that Sasori was a criminal because he was responsible for the murder of Sandaime – and those organs in his closet didn't come from animals, either. He definitely had preformed a number of killings in his days. Itachi was responsible for brining down one of Konoha's most powerful corporations. He didn't know much about the other members, but he assumed they had done their share of bad deeds too.

"There is an operation we perform for Chakra Awakening, but that's only if you can not awaken it yourself." Pein said with his gaze locked on the door.

There was feeling in the pit of his stomach that made Deidara think this 'operation' was going to be very painful. "H-how can you awaken it yourself."

"No one knows. It's just something that happens. Itachi, Orochimaru, Sasori, Konan, and myself were able to do so by myself. Hidan, Kakuzu, and Kisame had the operation.

"Hidan was part of a small religion based on masochist behavior that was later shut down and became forbidden in his land because of its bloody, inhumane rituals. Kakuzu was a thief responsible for robbing hundreds of banks, and Kisame was a swordsmen assassin. Orochimaru was a ledged in Konoha—" Now that he mentioned it, Deidara had heard the snake's name before "—Itachi was the heir to a multi-billionaire corporation. He assassinated his family and brought the corporation to dust and was banished from the Leaf."

Deidara suddenly felt very uncomfortable. All of the members had preformed such terrible acts, and the worst Deidara's ever done is supposedly "rape" a fifteen year old.

"Each human's chakra is different. It changes with our beliefs, our desires, our wants and our personalities. When it's awakened, it takes the form of your being and turns you into your desires. You can't choose your abilities – they choose you. Of course, we all have the ability to run faster, jump higher, and disappear, but that's only if you know how to control it."

The blonde remembered the night before he went to prison. Sasori had him in some sort of bind that had paralyzed his ability to move. Perhaps that was part of Sasori's abilities. Now that he thought about it, Pein had not said much about Sasori in the first place.

"What about Sasori-Danna…? You didn't say anything about him." The orange-haired man rose to his feet and stretched his arms above him with a dull yawn before crossing the room to the door. Before he left, he turned to face Deidara for one final word.

"That's a story for another day. I will give you until the end of this week for your decision."

And he was gone.

-:- -:- -:-

Deidara was back at the couch again, finishing the last of the microwavable miso soup he found the cupboard. The one thing he really missed was eating dinner with someone. The Akatsuki seemed to travel at their own paces and eat wherever and whenever they pleased. Once and a while, he'd find one of the members digging through the half-empty cabinets for something to eat. Then they'd disappear behind their bedroom door again. Sasori came out on rare occasion when he wasn't being held captive by Pein and Konan.

"I'm sorry for all of this… this happens every time I die." Sasori said one night while he was working at his desk. Deidara was sitting back against the wall again, watching the redhead with half-closed eyes.

"It's fine, Danna… I probably deserve not seeing you after I killed you…" Deidara said while he traced circles on his ankles. Sasori turned back to Deidara with a slightly annoyed look in his eyes.

"Don't say that. Like I said before: you can't kill me, even if you tried."

The blonde sighed and looked down while he fiddled with his fingers in embarrassment. He knew he couldn't kill Sasori, but it was the fact that he had _tried _to kill him that made him nervous.

"Danna, how come I can't kill you?"

Silence. Sasori continued scribbling his notes down in the textbook. Deidara looked away with a disappointed sigh. This was the second time he had asked and the second time he had been downcast.

"…h-hey, Deidara…" Sasori whispered. He instantly looked up with a hopeful smile. "Yes, Danna?"

"I need to pick up a few things back at my bedroom if you don't mind. Would you like to escort me?"

"Of course." Deidara sighed, getting up and shoving his feet through his shoes. He reached his hand out to take Sasori's, but it was refused as Sasori put his in his pocket. They both left the room in silence and Sasori quickly turned around to lock it with a key.

"Dan—" Sasori shoved his hand over Deidara's mouth to silence him while pulling a finger up to his lips. Deidara nodded in understanding. He didn't want Sasori to remove his hands since it was the first time he had felt Sasori's touch in days, but it he couldn't help but notice something different about the way Sasori's flesh felt. Perhaps it was the time duration that made him forget, but he could've sworn that Sasori's flesh felt _harder_. He felt like Sasori had placed a piece of wood over his mouth to silence him. His scent was still as sweet though.

Sasori pulled his hand away and shoved it in his pocket again. There was a devious, mischievous smile plastered on his lips as they both made their way down the dark hallway. Sasori pushed the door open and closed the door behind Deidara. The room after that was completely black.

The blonde groped around the abyss to find the missing Sasori. When his hands brushed against something soft, he heard a light gasp come from nowhere.

"Deidara, are you that eager?" Sasori asked in a hissing whisper. Though it was dark, Deidara swore his cheeks had turned red.

"Sorry…" though part of him really wasn't. There was a rumbling sound coming from an opposite wall. A hint of moonlight lit the outline of Sasori's face and Sasori pulled Deidara toward the exit. They had to crawl through that two foot gap Sasori had created, but it was enough for the both of them to get through.

There was nothing as sweet as breathing in the night air. Deidara inhaled, filling his lungs with the luscious scent and releasing in a deep, heavy sigh. The redhead was already halfway down the block by the time he had finished, and the cold air was less forgiving when his breathing became heavy. Sasori sounded as if he were laughing when Deidara caught up, like it was a game for him.

"Danna, why can't you just let me enjoy the night air for a few minutes?" he snapped at the amused face of the redhead.

"I hate waiting. You have to catch up." He whispered back, walking faster and making Deidara skip to keep up with Sasori's strides. "My apartment is a ten minute walk from here. You have plenty of breathing time."

"If you keep walking that fast, I'll have too much breathing time." Deidara groaned up at the moon.

Neither of them talked after that. Once and a while, Deidara would heave a big sigh in hope of starting a conversation, but Sasori never caught on. Deidara noticed the glances he kept casting over his shoulder, and after watching that for ten minutes, he found himself doing the same thing. His eyes created shapes in the shadows and each shape brought him a step closer to Sasori. When they were walking inches apart, they arrived at Sasori's old apartment.

He never thought he'd miss the skinny hallway this much. With a skip in his step, he followed Sasori down to the kitchen-bedroom. The lights flickered on and off when the light switch was flipped, but it provided enough light to make out everything in detail.

"Sasori pulled a large box out and started piling books into it.

"Hey, Sasori-Danna?" Deidara asked while he took a seat on the couch behind a crouching Sasori.

"Hm?" he replied while he topped the box off with the last book.

"Why are you packing? Are you moving back to the Akatsuki place?"

"Well… yes… I have no choice now."

"No choice?" He repeated with a bewildered look.

"This place will be ashes by tomorrow."

Deidara's mouth fell agape. "B-but… why…?"

"Because after I leave this place, I'll have to burn it."

"Why?!" Deidara asked again with a desperate tone.

"Because, thanks to you, I'm in the police records. If Sunakagure discovered I was _alive—_" he broke off and changed his words, "…I need to play dead… there are plenty of Sasori's in the world. If this place goes, then I'll just be another body. If I remain in the files as a rape victim, they'll discover my ties with that damn, godforsaken country. They'll know I was the one who killed Sandaime…"

Deidara stopped talking there once he realized that Sasori sounded scared.

Sasori sniffed and pulled out another cardboard flat, popping it out so it was box-shaped again and began filling it with what little clothes he had. It barely took up the bottom of the box, so the rest was filled with vials and jars filled with unknown, strangely colored liquids and organs. The two boxes were packed and placed by the door out in the hallway.

Deidara watched Sasori go through and clean out his closet. He was standing in the back, quiet as a shadow while Sasori tossed antique china onto the floor and vials in a third box. When the closet was empty, Sasori hoisted himself up on the bottom shelf to reach the very top one.

He groped around the dusty surface until his hand hit something, grabbing the lid and yanking it toward the edge. Deidara blinked, noticing it to be a small shoebox. Sasori jumped off and held the box delicately in his hands as if it were a priceless vase, but the way his face looked was as if he were holding burning coal in his hands. He slowly packed it away in the third box and placed it at the door along with the others.

"What was in there?" Deidara asked hesitantly. It obviously hurt Sasori to think about, but curiosity got the best of him. Expectantly, all he got was.

"Nothing of your concern."

Deidara sat back at the couch, watching Sasori with a concerned look. The redhead gave the box a nostalgic gaze before returning to Deidara's side with a smile to cover it up. He straddled across Deidara's legs and buried his nose against Deidara's throat.

"Hey…" he cooed, pressing a kiss against his Adam's Apple.

"Hey yourself…" Deidara replied with a tinge of blush under his eyes.

"I missed you…" Sasori wrapped an arm around the back of Deidara's neck and twirled his fingers in the long, blonde locks of his hair.

"Me too." He hid his face in the curly, crimson threads atop the shorter boy's head. "Danna…"

"Yes?"

"Why can't I kill you?"

Sasori didn't know what exactly Deidara was asking. He leaned in and brushed his lips just barely against Deidara's. "…I can't say…" his voice was so silent; Deidara could barely hear his words. His breathing froze so as not to spoil the delicious taste of Sasori's scent.

The talking stopped there. Deidara fell against the back of the couch, feeling Sasori's lips travel over the skin on his neck. A moan slipped from his lips just as his shirt was yanked over his head. Deidara proceeded to do the same to the black fishnet shirt Sasori was wearing under the jacket he had previously discarded. He barely caught glimpse of the ugly scar on Sasori's chest before he was distracted by another kiss. They grew more feverish as the seconds past. Sasori's lips never remained in the same place. He left kisses on every inch of Deidara's skin after clothing removal exposed it.

Sasori's lips were freezing cold against his skin, sending shivers up his spine with every heated kiss. Deidara wrapped his legs around Sasori's waist. He shivered when he felt Sasori's ice-cold stomach meet his. Sasori's skin was definitely cold, as if every bit evidence of heat I his body had disappeared. His hands had lost their silky texture. It was pleasant, feeling Sasori again, but it was also a shock feeling him like _this_.

Sasori shot up, tossing his head over his shoulder to look at the door. "…hold on…" He whispered, getting up and running over to the door. He pressed his ear against the wooden frame and closing his eyes to listen. After a few minutes of dead silence, he pulled away from the door and pulled the lock on the deadbolt closed. Then he crossed the room and closed the window, locking it as well.

"What are you so paranoid about?" Deidara asked, looking up at Sasori and then over at the door.

Sasori sat back in Deidara's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. "Nothing… nothing at all…" he said in a nervous tone. He leaned down to pick up where he had left off on Deidara's stomach. Deidara decided to drop it and closed his eyes.

"Deidara… don't take the blows from me…" he whispered, leaning up and straightening his back.

"What…? …what do you mean…?" Deidara asked looking Sasori square in the eye. "Sasori… what are you talking about? Why are you… shaking…?" he asked, grasping Sasori's cold arms to calm him down.

Sasori kept his eyes down, but he kept casting glances to the door. Deidara followed it, looking down the long, dark hallway to catch glimpse of what Sasori was watching. His eye locked immediately with those ghastly, yellow eyes that had been haunting his past week at Akatsuki. Orochimaru was standing in the open door, jugging the broken lock in one of his hands.

"How goes the rendezvous?" Orochimaru asked, kicking over the stack of boxes by the door. They both heard the broken glass and Deidara and Orochimaru could see the gaping look on Sasori's face.

"Orochimaru! Don't touch those…!" Sasori demanded as he dashed toward the black haired man to save any more of his possessions from breaking. Before he reached the boxes, he was knocked onto the floor by a fist. Sasori remained on the floor, motionless and quiet. At first, Deidara thought he was unconscious until Sasori began his attempt at getting to his feet again. When he got to his knees, he was rocketed into the wall by another punch and then pinned against the cracking plaster by his neck.

Sasori's hands fled to Orochimaru's, trying to pry the snake out of its coil. He gagged, his lungs starving for air.

"Danna…!" Deidara screamed, jumping off the couch and running toward the struggling redhead. Orochimaru flashed the blonde a smile before dropping the redhead in a mangled heap at his feet. Deidara quickly changed his angled direction toward the unconscious redhead before feeling something hard slam against the side of his head. His mind quickly flashbacked to the time his head slammed against his car window. He temporarily blacked out, looking up at Orochimaru's knees from his spot on the floor.

"I thought I told you not to touch my partner." Orochimaru hissed, but his voice was still as sickeningly sweet. "You're not a very good listener, Deidara-kun." He teased, leaning down to look him in the eyes. Deidara felt rage and hatred build in his stomach. He stared back into Orochimaru's eyes with clenched teeth.

"GET OUT!" he barked, and almost instantly, Orochimaru's body was swallowed in an explosion. Deidara threw his body over Sasori's as his ears were assaulted by unbelievable sound and shockwave. He heard the windows blow out and the hallway door slam against the wall.

The smoke cleared and Orochimaru was gone. Deidara slowly lifted his head and looked around at the room. Almost everything was unnoticeable with the layer of charcoal that had settled over every surface, including him and Sasori. Sasori's face was untainted by the black material since Deidara had covered him, but the redhead's back was covered in scars from the projectiles that had embedded themselves in his delicate flesh.

"…I-I did this…" Deidara said in a shaking voice, looking at the wounds with wide, shaking eyes.

"You putrid little—"

Deidara snapped his head up and met eyes with Orochimaru again. His tattered clothes revealed the burn marks on his pale chest. His eyes were filled with a rage that could be compared to what Deidara had felt only minutes ago.

"You saved him…" Orochimaru said with a smirk on his face. Deidara seemed surprised by the snake's mood change. He never wanted Sasori to be hurt, perhaps the explosive power had understood. "...You're a fool…" Orochimaru hissed. "You'll regret that… it's better that he's dead."

Deidara narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps I should show you who he _really_ is."

Deidara felt a shooting pain the side of his neck before coming face to face with a blade covered in his blood. He met his reflection: his distorted, terrified reflection as a single drop of blood landed on one of Sasori's cheeks.

"Since Sasori can't finish his mission, I'll have to do it for him." Orochimaru plucked a matchbox from Sasori's pocket and pulled the tiny drawer open to grab a matchstick. Deidara watched in horror as the match was struck and held menacingly between Orochimaru's fingers.

"You're both better off dead."

It seemed like the scene was in slow-motion. His fingers parted and the tiny ember slowly swallowed the rest of the matchstick and came in contact with the carpet.

The fire slowly spread, consuming the remaining carpet with hungry movements. Deidara panicked, leaning over Sasori. "…D-Danna! Please! Wake up! WAKE UP!" he begged, rigorously shaking the small Akatsuki. By now, the fire was melting the cheap, plaster walls. The heat was getting very uncomfortable and Deidara could feel sweat gathering on his forehead.

The gash on his neck dropped another bead of blood on the corner of Sasori's mouth, and then slipped through the crack between his lips. Sasori's eyes flew open as soon as his tongue met the coppery liquid pervading his mouth. Deidara jumped back as if someone had tied a string around his waist and yanked him back. Sasori's eyes were coal black and empty.

"…D-Danna… S-Sasori…?"

Sasori's tongue flicked out and slowly brushed across his lips. Deidara's eyes widened when he noticed something perturbing from Sasori's chest. The ugly scar had taken the form of a cylinder and turned blood red. The scar had turned black – he now noticed it was in the shape of the Kanji character for "Scorpion". His stomach had sunken in and replaced itself with a metallic, reptilian-looking flesh. What terrified Deidara the most were the wing-like projectiles that had sprouted from Sasori's back. There were five silver blades sprouting from either side of the two pipe-looking objects attached to Sasori's lower-back.

"_Perhaps I should show you who he _really_ is." _

Sasori's eyes fixated on the gash on the side of Deidara's neck. He could see the fire reflection swimming in the Akatsuki's dark, evil eyes. He got to his feet, looking down at Deidara with a malicious grin sprawled across his lips.

"…I…I-I have to kill y-you… D-Deidara… I have to kill you!!"

-:- -:-

Author's Note – CLIFFHANGER!! I realize that most of you are on the brink of slitting my throat and leaving me to die. I'm so sorry this took too long. I could give you a string of excuses, but that won't really help. I promise that I'll try my best to update the next chapter VERY soon. Please keep your torches and pitchforks at a safe distance – killing me will only postpone the update even more.

I lovelovelove "I love My Puppeteers" for her wonderful contribution to getting me off my lazy ass to write this chapter. She is overly amazing, as are all of my wonderful fans. I shall update soon!


	8. Taking the Bait

Chapter eight – Taking the Bait

-:- -:-

Author's Note – Please note that the start of this chapter is in flashback form. Thank you and enjoy the new chapter of _Tuesdays with Sasori_. No, Sasori is NOT a vampire. Chapter Eight, Taking the Bait (It Rhymes!)

-:- -:- -:-

"You wanted to see me?"

He didn't bother bowing or showing any sign of courtesy in his entrance. He just stood there with dark, focused eyes stationary on the figure sitting before him. The other man didn't seem wary by his presence or lack of respect; he just smiled a smile that was neither welcoming nor hostile.

The taller man stood, his onyx hair catching the light of the setting sun flowing in through the window. His eyes were the same color, but held certain majesty to them. He walked over to meet his visitor with his long beige robe flowing fluidly behind him.

"Don't be so casual with me, Sasori. I'm sure you're very aware of my new position in this country." The darker man warned the unfazed redhead standing before him. Sasori merely let out a scoff, his lips splitting into a mischievous smile fit for a cat.

"Oh, I know _very_ well, Sensei." He sneered with an unjust accent on the word 'Sensei' so the word was used in no manner of respect. Sandaime leaned in close to the younger's face to intimidate him by size. Sasori's smile faded.

"Obviously you called me here for more than the usual." He shoved an impatient hand up and flailed it before the Kazekage's face to push him a few inches away. "So out with it. I haven't the time for games."

The Kazekage retreated to his desk with a troubled hand running through his hair. His long, thin fingers brushed over a pile of papers perched on the corner of his desk. He seemed to know exactly what he was looking for, because he pulled a paper right from the midst of the pile and held it up before Sasori.

"It's a warrant for your arrest, Mr. Akasuna." The black-haired man said in a dangerous voice. Sasori's trademark smile appeared once again.

"Me? What for?" his tone sounded more like he was receiving a prestigious award rather than a possible death sentence.

"Sasori, this is the fifth time you've killed a man this month. You'd be much better off if they didn't find out about those cruel experiments of yours." Sandaime seemed to be getting more worried than serious, but his voice was still as deep and dangerous as Sasori remembered.

"I would've killed less people if they weren't snooping around my experiments in the first place. It's none of their business."

Sandaime sighed, hunching over his desk and allowing his mattered black hair to hide his face. "Sasori… I promised your grandmother that I'd take care of you, but with you straying away from me like this, it's becoming impossible."

"I'm fifteen, Sensei. I can take care of myself. That old bat just asked you that so she wouldn't have to take care of me herself. She's always too busy to deal with me, so she just sends me over to you."

"That's not true… your grandmother cares a lot about you. She's dealt with a lot of responsibility after the war… the village needed her medical expertise… then she becomes your guardian after your parents died—"

"They didn't die! They were _taken_ from me!" It was the first time in a long time Sandaime had seen such anger – such a raw emotion on his face. "And what the hell do you know?! You don't know what's happened to me! Everyone has always cared more about themselves then me, so I see no problem as to why I can't return the favor!"

A hand lashed out and grabbed his wrist, sending the redhead silent.

"You're acting very ungrateful, Sasori. I suggest you count your blessings before you curse them."

Sasori wrenched his hand out of the other's grasp, shooting him a look that could kill. Sandaime's face softened.

"Sasori… I promised I would protect you… but I can't keep getting you out of trouble. You need to stop now, or you'll be in too much trouble and I won't be able to retrieve you."

The angry look on Sasori's face eased back into his apathetic state. His head eased down until a shadow fell over his face to hide the small amount of sadness lingering in his eyes.

A finger curled under his chin and brought his face to light. Sandaime smiled down at the redhead and pushed the crimson hair away from Sasori's almond-shaped eyes. "Don't try to seduce me, Sensei. I know your plan." Sasori pushed a hand against the black-haired man's chest and took a few steps back to free himself from Sandaime's hand.

"I can't quit what I'm doing. It's my passion. My art." Sasori said as-a-matter-of-factly. He didn't dare look into Sandaime's eyes while saying this, but he could already picture the expression perfectly.

"Then I can't lend you my protection." Sandaime said with a glare.

"I won't need it. I'm leaving. I'm taking up his offer." This time he decided to look at the other man. Sandaime's eyes were wide, almost afraid. Within seconds, had expression became serious again.

"You can't possibly—Sasori, that snake is wanted for virtually every crime in Konoha. How can you even come so close as to trust him?"

"Because I am also a criminal. Obviously, I have no need for this place anymore."

"Sasori, I can't allow you to do this." He advanced on the redhead with his angered eyes locked on the calm light brown orbs watching him so carefully.

"I don't need your permission. I'm a big boy now. I can take the world on myself." He barked, leaning close to the Kazekage.

"If you leave this village, you'll be in deeper trouble than just homicides. You'll be convicted for treason if they every catch you."

"_IF _they ever catch me, Sensei." Sasori corrected with a smile. The Kazekage placed his head in his palms as a sigh escaped his lips to show Sasori that he had given up. Sasori smiled triumphantly, but quickly hid the smile with another one of his apathetic expressions.

"I bid you farewell, Sensei. I'll return later this week." He gave Sandaime a small bow and abruptly showed him his back. An arm quickly wound around his scrawny neck, pulling him back against the forceful body of the Kazekage.

Sasori felt a pair of lips brush gently against the perimeter of his ear. He closed his eyes and tried to keep from showing any sign of enjoyment. It was feeling Sandaime's breath that made him shiver. "You'd better come see me before you leave."

The redhead slowly cracked open his eyes and looked back at the black haired man with a malicious grin.

"You can count on it."

-:- -:-

"…I…I-I have to kill y-you… D-Deidara… I have to kill you!!"

Sasori's eyes had all but lost their shine. The color had drained completely to give in to the dark crimson matching the blood on the corner of his lips. Deidara found himself contemplating whether to be killed by the flames roaring behind him, or be brutally tortured by the person he loved the most.

He had seen the finished products of Sasori's torture before.

"…D-Danna… p-please…" Deidara whined. Deidara heard the ear shattering noise of cracking glass from over him. He slowly directed his attention from Sasori to look up at the window. The glass was bubbling from the extreme heat and pressure being forced upon it. The glass shattered in an instant with Deidara in its direct path.

The blonde let out an ear-splitting scream when an immense pain shot into his left eye. His hands darted to the bleeding eye socket and quickly covered it up with blood-soaked hands.

Sasori hummed contently, bearing his brilliant white teeth at Deidara. "I'm afraid I can't pass this chance up, Deidara." His voice was darker and almost unrecognizable by this point.

To Deidara's horror, the snake-like cable began slithering toward him. The cold metal felt like death slowly crawling up his stomach toward his neck. The viper curled around his neck and constricted almost instantly, nearly causing Deidara to pass out. His words came in cracked gasping noises.

"You'll soon become one of my puppets… my art, Deidara…"

His hands darted up to grab the cable in hope that he could pull it loose enough for another breath. Still, the cable refused to uncoil, taking his actions as an invitation to tighten it's constraints a little more. He gagged out, watching Sasori with blurred vision as the blackness in the corners of his eyes began swarming his sight. The smoke made it hard enough to breathe.

"…D-Danna…" he croaked, waterfalls of blood raining down his left cheek. "…S-Sa-Sasori…"

Another scream ripped through the sound barrier and Deidara felt the cable slip away in an instant. He collapsed in a mangled heap to the floor, gasping out for the air that was robbed of his lungs. He coughed violently, drawing blood along with him from the potent taste of the smoke filling the room. He couldn't find enough strength to lift his head off of the floor. Even though his mind was panicking from the trauma he just went through and the inevitable fire that was filling the room, he couldn't find enough vigor in his body to get to his feet. He just wanted to sleep.

"D-Deidara…" he heard a voice beckon him from his wanted slumber. Though his eyes were still unfocused, the red hair was unmistakable. He felt two arms slip under his body and hoist him up. He wasn't sure whether to be afraid or grateful, but the strength in his voice had gone and he hadn't the courage to ask.

Sasori returned to the hallway to retrieve his topmost box and placed it on Deidara's stomach. Deidara felt that jerking motion in his stomach again, meaning Sasori had begun his mad dash down the stairs and toward their only remaining exit. He heard a loud BANG and the sound of snapping wood when Sasori's shoulder came in contact with the apartment complex door, and the two of them spilled out onto the concrete.

Deidara could see the familiar red and blue lights dancing across Sasori's pale features. The sirens were dulled, but being picked up meant they were fast approaching. He felt the box on his stomach again as Sasori took off down the road to avoid the police.

All the while home, all Deidara could hear were Sasori's desperate pleas.

"…_please don't die… please don't die…" _

-:- -:-

…_beep… beep… beep… _

Deidara's eyes slowly opened to a white room with an abnormally bright light beating down on him. He tried to shield his eyes from it, but his arms were too heavy to budge. He still couldn't make out anything, but he could feel a lump in his throat at the first possibility of being dead. He tried to shut his eyes again, but the pain in his left eye socket skyrocketed in retaliation. He let out a grunt, squirming a bit to distract him from the sting. But you aren't supposed to feel pain when you're dead…

"Deidara?" He heard an angelic, sweet voice ring in his ears as a hand lay on his forehead. A shadow blocked his eyes from the light.

"…am I dead…?" he asked in a very quiet voice.

…_beep… beep… beep…_

The hand on his forehead slid down from his forehead to his left eye. He felt a calming, cool feeling chase away the pain almost instantly. After a few minutes of the treatment, the hand left his eye and something soft and cottony took its place. He looked up at the slowly sharpening face of Konan.

"You lost your eye, Deidara. There was a large piece of glass embedded in it and we couldn't save it in time. The damage was too great." She explained as she made her way to the opposite of what was focusing to be Pein's room. Deidara propped himself up on his elbows and followed her with the only eye he had remaining.

"How's Sasori?" He asked.

Konan looked at him in disbelief, but managed to find her words. "He's in his room if you want to check on him. Just don't do anything rash; you still need time to heal."

Deidara walked to Sasori's room as if he had never used his legs before in his life. He pushed the door open and limped into the room, not surprised to find Sasori at his desk with a screwdriver perched between his teeth.

He met Deidara's eye and removed the goggles from over his eyes to allow Deidara a good look at him before he dared to take a step closer. Deidara didn't move, but his body language seemed to tell Sasori that he still didn't trust him. When Sasori's hand reached Deidara's cheek, he felt the blonde wince; he hoped it was due to pain and not fear. he pulled his hand away as slowly as he had put it on Deidara's cheek.

Deidara took notice of something red on Sasori's cheek, leaning in to get better lighting to cast on it. Sasori, noticing this, covered his cheek with his hand.

"Danna… did you get hurt too?" Deidara questioned with a concerned tone, much to Sasori's relief.

"Not in the fire… like you did."

Sasori moved his hand to show Deidara a giant welt that had formed on his left cheek. "Don't' worry… I've already learned my lesson…"

The blonde immediately guessed it was Orochimaru's causing. He looked over to where Orochimaru was presumably sitting on the other side of the wall. When he had looked back to Sasori, the redhead was gone. Deidara blinked and looked around the room, a tiny figure at his feet catching his eye.

"I'm sorry, Deidara… I didn't mean to… sometimes I can't control myself." Sasori was on his knees, his nose to the floor in an apologetic bow. Deidara smiled and got down on his knees to meet the redhead. A hand rested on Sasori's back, beckoning him up to meet his eye.

"I don't blame you, Sasori-Danna. It wasn't your fault." Deidara said with a smile, but it wasn't as contagious as he had hoped – the one on Sasori's face only lasted a split second. The redhead got to his feet and ventured back to his desk, picking up the strange pile of metal sitting on its surface.

"It'll never make up for what happened… but I'm hoping it might mend a few broken seams." He pushed it before Deidara.

"What is it?" Deidara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A scope." Sasori said with a slightly disappointed tone. "A mechanical eye. Once you've healed, I can install it into your left eye socket and you'll be able to see again. Maybe even better than before."

Deidara seemed slightly anxious about the idea, but he managed a small smile so Sasori wouldn't be offended.

"I'll let you work on it, okay?" Deidara said while Sasori placed the unfinished scope on his desk again. The redhead snapped the goggles over his eyes again to hide the slight sadness that had appeared in them.

"Sure thing. It'll be done by tomorrow if I work all through the night."

Deidara made a gesture like he was going to kiss Sasori on the cheek, but he thought better of it and offered a small wave instead before leaving the bedroom.

Once in the hallway, he allowed himself to release a small amount of the emotions he had been holding while back in the bedroom. The tears only came out of one eye of course, but he still felt the need to cover both eyes with his hands. His sobbing was as quiet as he could keep it, but it wasn't enough not to catch the attention of a certain Akatsuki member in the hallway.

"You look like you need a smoke."

Deidara lifted his head to find Hidan before him with a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

"…n-no, I don't smoke," though it was lie since he started after Shikamaru's death. Hidan shrugged and remained beside Deidara, flicking the lighter and holding it to the lit cigarette perched between his lips. Deidara wrinkled his nose when it came in contact with the smoke blown from Hidan's mouth. It was the last thing he wanted to smell right now.

"Damn… that must really hurt." Hidan mused, pointing at Deidara's neck with his lit cigarette. Deidara leaned up to touch it, feeling the burn marks and grooves that Sasori's strange cable had left behind after Sasori's attempt on killing him. He swallowed hard and looked over at Hidan with a mixed emotion.

"Hidan! How many times do I have to tell you that you're supposed to smoke outside?" Konan barked as she approached the two men. Hidan gave her an obscene gesture and made his way toward the front door with a trail of smoke flowing behind him. The blue-haired woman scoffed and turned to look at Deidara.

"Pein wants to see you."

He groaned and ran a hand through his long hair. She led him down the hallway once more and back into Pein's room where the orange-haired leader was sitting in the chair opposite of the table Deidara was recently laying on.

Pein smiled and rose to his feet. "Aren't you a fascinating exception?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Someone told me you found your chakra source. Explosives, hm? How fascinating. But it's not unusual for someone to awaken their chakra after they've heard of its existence."

"But I can't seem to do it again… it just came on a whim for a few seconds, and now I can't seem to do anything anymore." Deidara replied with a slightly annoyed voice.

"It'll be very simple to fix that problem, Deidara." There was something about Pein's tone that made him uncomfortable. "All you need to do now is leave the rest up to me. Once you do, you'll be in Akatsuki. With the exception of you not having a partner, though…"

"A partner?" Deidara pressed Pein further on the matter.

"Yes, exactly. All Akatsuki members have partners: Konan's with me, Hidan's with Kakuzu, Sasori's with Orochimaru, and Kisame's with Itachi. You could join, but some missions cannot be carried out without a partner."

"Can't I just _borrow_ someone else's partner?"

"If you're talking about Sasori, then no. His skill is used in solo missions. The higher-ranked ones are for Sasori and Itachi." Deidara frowned at Pein. Suddenly, the Akatsuki wasn't as glorious as he thought it to be. "Otherwise, you'll be partnered with someone else for missions until we can trust you to go out on your own."

"All right… so, how do I go about opening my chakra then? I know you do it, but do I have to do anything special?"

"You don't have to do much." Pein admitted with a smile. "Konan will assist me." She nodded at Deidara, gesturing him to the same table. Deidara obeyed and sat on the table as she began attaching wires to his body. He felt a small sharp pain in his arm when he saw Konan stick a needle in it for a blood sample.

"Okay, Pein. He's yours."

Deidara swallowed as the other man approached him. He stopped before Deidara's pitiful figure and looked down at him, the two of them quickly locking eyes. Deidara felt as if he were falling straight into those strangely spiral-like eyes. He found himself drowning in Pein's eyes, as if someone had lassoed a rope around his neck and pulled him in.

He lurched forward and fell in, falling through an endless pit of cold and darkness. He couldn't find himself to open his eye. He knew he was falling, but there was no wind tickling the hairs on his bare arms to prove it.

He finally managed to succumb to his paranoia and open his eyes.

He found himself in another white room. The room was neither cold, nor hot. He couldn't feel temperature at all. Still, he found his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he looked desperately around the abyss to find a sign. His legs carried him to no end into the cesspool of endlessness. He couldn't tell if his legs were carrying him anywhere.

Finally, his eyes caught sight of a figure a few hundred feet away from him. He urged his legs faster toward it, never taking his eyes off of the shadow in case it vanished. Once he reached it, he was surprised to find it to be himself.

The other Deidara was naked, squatting before him with his with his legs held close to his chest and his face buried in his knees. He seemed to notice other's presence since his face was slowly lifting up to meet him. The other Deidara smiled deviously and rose to his feet.

"So, you finally decided to come see me, un?" The second Deidara asked, his voice distant and almost inhuman. Now that he was perfectly stood up, Deidara could get a better examination of his clone.

This one didn't seem all that different to him, but what really caught his attention was the strange-looking tattoo on his chest. The clone flipped his hands over so his palms were facing up. On either one, there was a mouth, jeering at him with insane smiles.

"Who are you?" the first Deidara asked after he had a good look at the clone.

"I am you, un. A part of you that's been locked away since you were born." He answered simply, but understanding it wasn't as simple as he put it. "I am your chakra source, or what you will be once you awaken me, un. You woke me up last night with a bang, un!" he sounded excited, "but then you lost sight of me and now you're back."

He felt uncomfortable all of the sudden, but he knew he'd have to endure this if he wanted to get out of here.

"Oh, don't worry. You won't be taken over by me or anything, un. I'm just lending you my powers and abilities so the two of us can make great art together, un."

"'Great art'?" he repeated.

"True art, un: the transient beauty in my explosives -- the stunning, short-lived moments of splendor." The weird mouths on the palms grinned up at Deidara, sticking their tongues out at him. "Art is a bang, un!" he finished, throwing his hands in the air for added effect.

"Do you want my powers, un?" the second Deidara asked, extending his hand for the other to take.

Though he was hesitant about touching a hand that had a mouth living on it, Deidara finally managed to meet his clone's hand. The two of them shook hands and the other Deidara sneered.

"Excellent, un."

A large gust of wind swept past the two of them, carrying the second Deidara with it. He quickly split into molecules of blue light and swarmed him. Deidara covered his eyes with his hands as another blinding light swept over the landscape. By the time his hands were removed, he was back in the room with Pein and Konan. Pein closed his eyes to break the bond between the two of them and turned away.

"Are you all right Deidara? Do you feel ill?" Konan asked, looking him seriously in the eye.

"…I feel a little dizzy, un…" he replied, holding his head.

"You probably just need a little sleep." She pushed a hand against his chest to keep him pressed flat against the table. Deidara didn't bother to disobey. Konan put her hand on his forehead and watched him slowly drift into a deep sleep.

-:- -:-

"Did you hear that Elder Chiyo committed suicide?"

"I don't blame her really. First she loses a son, and then she finds out her grandson is a convicted felon. That brat did the smart thing by killing himself after all he put her though."

Sasori pressed on, trying to ignore the conversation between the two women behind him. He pulled the black sheet over his head as he made his way toward the Kazekage's palace. The market was crowded and his was too recognizable. After his supposed suicide, it was best for him to remain as far away from people as possible. The mask fit perfectly over his face, and with the high winds blowing sand and dust through the city, no one would think him to be suspicious.

The other Akatsuki was waiting for him near the entrance to the city, and due to his hatred of keeping people waiting for him, he decided to make his visit brief.

Sandaime was sitting on the top of the Kazekage's palace, as he usually did to watch the sunset every evening. By the time the sun had disappeared behind the walls surrounding Suna, he found Sasori standing behind him with his mask held tightly in his hand. Sandaime gasped, getting to his feet from the chair he was sitting on. He stared blankly at Sasori with a shaken gaze, but he couldn't take his eyes off of him.

The redhead removed the hood from his head and shook the sand out of his hair. "I promised I'd see you before I left, didn't I?"

"…I thought… you were—"

"—Dead? So does most of Suna. Making puppets is so easy… I faked my death to get the police off of my trail." Sasori finished with a triumphant smile. Sandaime inched closer, his hand resting on Sasori's cheek as if to be sure what he was seeing wasn't an apparition.

"You look surprised." Sasori said in a hushed voice.

"Your skin feels colder." Sandaime replied while he caressed Sasori's neck with the tips of his fingers.

"That's what happens when you've been shot three times in the back by the ANBU police. Recovering was hard, but it's the second time I've died. Needless to say, one of those shots got a vital organ."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Your grandmother has died, I heard… the police believe its depression."

Sasori forced a laugh. "Ha. You could say that." Sandaime met Sasori's eyes with a dangerous stare.

"You know something, don't you?" he asked the younger one with a growl in his voice.

"She found out that I wasn't dead. I had no choice but to kill her. But if I used my usual methods, Suna would know the truth. I made it look like a suicide to her death wasn't too suspicious." He chuckled, smiling to himself as his eyes scanned over the darkening horizon. "However, since I did keep my promise, you know I'm alive too."

Sandaime's expression fell. Sasori laughed again.

"Relax, Sensei. I won't kill you. You just need to keep your lips shut for me." Sasori brought his hand to the man's face and brushed his fingers over the other's lips to tease him. "The strongest Kazekage can't possibly be afraid of one of his former students…"

"I don't recognize you anymore, Sasori." the other admitted. That still didn't stop Sasori's smile.

"You won't have to. I'm leaving tonight." He pulled his hand away in disappointment and turned his back to Sandaime for the last time. He reached for the mask he had dropped at his feet and lifted it toward his face.

A hand quickly grabbed for his wrist and spun the redhead around to connect with a familiar pair of lips. The mask fell to his feet with a clutter as his arms wound around the older man's neck. Again, he tried to keep from showing any signs of satisfaction in the gestures, but as the two of them proceeded, it became more difficult.

He'd forgotten how cold the night air was on bare skin – Suna was prone to extremes with hot in the day and freezing during the night. There was warmth against Sandaime's skin, but on the rooftop, he felt as if all of Suna was watching the two of them. Whether the shivers darting up his spine were from the cool night air or the immense pleasure coursing his body was of no concern to Sasori. Part of him wanted this "goodbye" to be over with.

Sasori cracked open an eye and groped around the sandy surface for his khaki jacket lying beside him. He checked each pocket carefully until his hands caught hold of something cold and metallic. His wrapped his hands around the handle, careful to keep Sandaime from noticing. The Kazekage seemed to be distracted enough by the soft moaning noises Sasori made. He was like an off-beat drum the way he moved.

Sasori twirled his fingers along the dagger and slowly pulled it closer to his body.

In an instant, he thrust the knife into the other's ribcage, immediately feeling warm, fresh blood pour down the blade and all over his hand. He twisted the blade and jerked it sideways, still careful not to hit any of the vital organs, before he heaved it out of the older man's body. Sandaime only watched him with a blank stare as he rolled off of the boy and onto his back. Sasori slowly got to his feet and casually pulled his robe back over his body.

"…Sasori…" Sandaime whispered, holding the wound. Sasori sneered.

"I know how to keep my promises, and I said I wouldn't kill you – don't worry." He got to low to the ground, looking over Sandaime with a hungry stare. "Relax, Sensei." He purred. "You'll see me in due time. But how early you do depends on you." He brought a finger to his lips and winked, "Keep your mouth shut about me and you're life might just last a little longer."

He slid his finger along the blade of the already bloody dagger, drawing his own blood in the process.

"Goodbye, Sensei." And with that, he dropped the weapon at the Kazekage's feet and leapt off the side of the building.

-:- -:-

"Please, Pein-sama. You have to let me go… at least let me go with him."

Deidara cracked an eye open at the voices carrying down the hallway. He sat up and rubbed his head. The headache he had before still hadn't gone. The blonde jumped off of the table and landed wearily on his feet, grabbing his head again. Something soft and pointy prodded the side of his head, making Deidara jump back and knock the table over. Looking down at his hand, his eye caught sight of the palm mouths he had seen in his dream.

The palm mouth sneered at him, licking its lips. Deidara made a face of disgust.

"This is an important mission. You don't know the inner-workings of the Hokage's palace as much as does."

"—Besides, you'll just be a burden to me."

He turned his attention to the hallway, slowly walking toward Pein's door to listen in on the conversation.

"With all due respect, we can't trust him with a mission this important." This voice was undoubtedly Sasori's.

"Keep your mouth shut." He shivered at the sound of Orochimaru's voice.

"Sasori, I think it would be best if Orochimaru went alone on this one. You still need a few more days to recover." Pein's voice.

"We're here to start war, Pein. Not to get personal satisfaction." Sasori growled. "Everyone knows that the Third Hokage is Orochmaru's old Sensei."

"I'm sorry, Sasori, but Orochimaru is the only one who knows the Hokage's palace well enough." Pein said in his usual unemotional tone.

Deidara heard Sasori heave a sigh, meaning he had given up. After a few moments of silence he heard a pair of footsteps dim away as someone left the conversation. He heard Pein bid someone a good evening and then make his way toward the door Deidara was hiding behind.

The door flung open and Deidara spilled onto the premises, his headache pounding against his skull. He knew the shoes he was looking at belonged to Pein.

"Good evening." The pierced man said. Deidara got to his knees, holding his head and trying to ignore the misplaced tongue that was trying to bite his ear.

"Good evening, Pein, un." He replied. Pein slipped past the blonde, pushing him out of his room and into the hallway. Deidara slowly, but surely obeyed since he wasn't too happy with having to get up again. He walked down the hallway with a limp in his step and a hand still held to his head until he reached Sasori's room.

He didn't bother knocking and invited himself in, much to Sasori's annoyance.

"Don't just walk in like that. You'll give me a heart attack one day."

"Sorry, Danna, un." Deidara apologized, still not keeping his hand off of his head.

"'Un'?" Sasori repeated, but Deidara ignored it.

Deidara took a seat on Sasori's bed, watching the Puppeteer at his desk, who was still working on that dreaded scope.

"I'm almost finished. Just a few touch ups, some modifications, and your sight will be good as new. If not better, might I add. I'm putting a lot into this." Sasori turned his attention back to the metal device and began welding two large black pieces of metal together for the exterior of the scope. "Pein told me that you have control over your chakra now. I guess you don't need me to carry you around anymore."

"I guess, un. But it all seems hazy to me."

"What's with the 'un' thing?" Sasori asked, looking back at him for a split second.

"I don't know. I just feel the need to say it all of the sudden, un."

"Well, it's getting kind of annoying. It's hard to concentrate on a conversation with you."

"I can't stop, un." Deidara said in a pathetic voice. Sasori scoffed in disbelief, focusing all of his attention on the scope.

"When did you awaken your chakra, un?" Deidara inquired after a considerable amount of silence.

"Five." Sasori replied, examining the scope with a magnifying glass. "I found my chakra source the day after my parents died." He finished with no hint of sadness in his voice.

"My parents were killed by someone when I was very little… I can't even remember their faces, un." Deidara admitted with enough sadness to fill the both of them.

"You're lucky you can't remember their faces… or the face of the killer." Deidara decided not to question what Sasori meant since he sounded like he really wanted to drop the subject. Sasori got to his feet, holding the scope out for Deidara to see. "I'm early, but I finished it."

Deidara tried to smile, but it came out rather awkwardly. Sasori pulled him up and sat him on the chair before brushing the blonde hair behind his ear. Deidara shut his other eye as icy cold metal touched the sensitive flesh around his eyes. He squeaked a little, but bit his lip to keep it from becoming loud enough for Sasori to notice. He could feel something cold moving inside his eye socket.

The scope made the left side of his head feel slightly heavier than the right side. Deidara's head tilted to the left as soon as the scope was fitted. The scope focused itself with a few mechanical _wurrs_ on the pale face of Sasori that was closing in on him.

"How is it?" Sasori asked, adjusting the lens with his fingers.

"Your face is so pretty, Danna, un."

"That's not an answer." Sasori said in annoyed tone as a shade of pink manifested his cheeks.

"Well, I can see out of it, un."

"That's a start. You just wait: soon you'll find out about a lot more features." Sasori replied with a satisfied smile.

Deidara slid a hand along Sasori's neck while he was still in range since he knew the puppeteer was prone to pull back soon. Sasori only stared at his reflection in the lens of the scope before the waterfall of gold covered the left side of Deidara's face yet again.

"Danna, un…" Deidara whispered, using his free hand to tangle fingers with the puppeteer.

To his utmost surprise, Sasori jumped back into the desk, a shocked look on his face.

"…wha-what the hell what _THAT?!_"

Deidara gave him a questioning look before he noticed the long, pink tongue sticking out of his right hand. "It's part of my ability, un." He answered, showing Sasori the palm mouth. The redhead raised an eyebrow, staring at the palm mouth and then at Deidara.

"How many mouths do you have now?"

"Including the one on my face: four, un." Deidara said with a small laugh. Sasori's cheeks flushed with color, to the point where his hair was graying in comparison. Deidara laughed a little and rose to his feet, taking advantage of his height to back Sasori against the surface of the desk. It was too temping to pass up.

"What're you thinking?" Sasori hummed, trying to look away. He felt his wrists being pressed against the desk surface. It was obvious the strength that Deidara's chakra gave him. Sasori tried to pulls his wrists apart, but feeling Deidara's hips against his nearly made him collapse – it was still enough to find himself laying flat on his back with Deidara's waist snug between his legs.

"…stubborn brat…" Sasori groaned, trying to break his hands free of the blonde's death grip. Deidara refused, pressing harder on the redhead's wrists. The tongues of either palm mouth licked at his arms, causing Sasori to cringe slightly. He turned his head to the side as soon as he caught eye of Deidara's lips closing in on him. Deidara took advantage of Sasori's aversion to go for his neck instead.

The redhead bit his bottom lip to hold back any noises that were itching to leave his lips. Deidara took this as a challenge and bit down on the sweet flesh of Sasori's neck, earning a very labored moan.

"Come now, Sasori-Danna, un…" Deidara leaned close to Sasori's ear, breathing a few light breaths against the skin. "…I'm just thanking you for giving me eyesight…"

"…y-yea right." He replied, closing his eyes and trying to calm his quickening breath. Deidara removed one of his hands from Sasori's wrist, confident that Sasori wouldn't try escaping, and slid it under Sasori's shirt. The palm mouth immediately caught on and dragged its soft, warm tongue along the puppeteer's fragile flesh, leaving little bite marks along the path Deidara's hand drew for it.

Sasori winced, still trying to hold in all feeling of the moment between him and Deidara. His free hand lay flat on the desk in the same position since Deidara left it.

"Come on, Danna, un." Deidara beckoned Sasori's shirt off of his body, nearly jumping back when he noticed the red container still, barely protruding from the right side of his chest. Sasori refused to catch Deidara's eye after Deidara saw this.

"…as long as that's still out, I'm very dangerous…" Sasori whispered as Deidara's hand rested on the surface of the red cylinder. His palm mouth cautiously poked the erect flesh with its tongue. Sasori looked back at Deidara with saddened eyes.

"I know, Danna…" he leaned down and pressed his lips to the container's frail surface. It was as if the heart container had robbed all of the heat away from the rest of Sasori's body. "…but it's not like you can do any worse to me anymore…"

"…oh, Deidara. You don't know how wrong you are." He whispered, looking away again.

"…What do you mean, un…?" he asked, pulling back to meet Sasori's gaze. Sasori dare not look at him. To avoid eye contact, he closed them.

"I don't think you want to kill the man who killed your parents."

"What makes you so sure, un?"

Sasori turned and looked at Deidara, a strange emotion lingering in his eyes.

"Because I was the one who killed them."

-:- -:- -:-

Author's Note – I know, I know… I keep leaving you guy's with cliffhangers. I'm terribly sorry, but at the same time, I'm not. I enjoy them. Please keep pitchforks to a minimum and I'll try to update as soon as possible. Oh, did I forget to mention that I also enjoy SandaimexSasori? This is the first time I've written it before, so I'm very sorry if it sucked. I swear, I think my story is starting to get more boring by each chapter... o.O


	9. Veristimilitude

Chapter nine – Verisimilitude

-:- -:- -:-

Author's note: and so begins the flashback sequences – more Saso-wee and his pathetic little life that I love messing with. :D I'm thinking there might only be a few chapters left, but my goal is to make it to 150+ reviews. I'm addicted to SandaimexSasori now (not as much as SasoDei though, don't worry), so I'm starting the chapter off with a little more of it. Oh yea… and Rousoku Sandaime. I needed to pick out a name for him at one point so I don't keep calling him "Sandaime"… yea, I know that Sandaime is Gaara's grandfather in the real story, but I'm gonna make him Gaara's uncle instead.

Confused? Yes? Moving on… (DON'TFORGETTOREVIEW)

-:- -:- -:-

"What have you DONE?!"

The room trembled with the sound of a hand colliding with another's cheek. One of the boys had his hand raised over his left shoulder, the other his head cocked over his right one.

The room was filled with shadows and cold as it was dark. A single, flickering light bulb hung from the ceiling; a few dimly-lit candles perched on the mahogany desk against the wall. Their only company apart from each other was the malfunctioned puppets hanging along the walls of the room. Sasori's grandmother, Chiyo, owned a puppet shop. He had been exposed to the wooden marionettes for as long as he could remember, almost to the point of obsession. The puppet shop didn't get any customers since its employer was always paying her duties to the battlegrounds. Sasori liked to think of himself as its employer now, playing and experimenting with them through the dead hours of the night.

Sasori turned his head back into its respected position, the movement accompanied by a painful-sounding crack in his joints. A large red handprint was plastered perfectly on his cheek to match the sly, cat-like smile split across his lips. His wrists and arms were soiled with rivers of his own blood, and his eyes were glossed over with a heavy apathy.

Seeing the unchanged look on his friend's face, Gaara pushed against Sasori's shoulder blades, instantly sending the frail redhead toppling onto the floor. Gaara's only reply to his gesture was a weak chortle as Sasori wiped the blood spilling from his lips away with the back of his sleeved hand. The other Suna boy looked down at Sasori, his floodgates ready to burst.

The lighter-haired boy slowly met Gaara's gaze with an exacto-knife held firmly between his fingers. "Don't give me that look, Gaara… you're not going to cry, are you?" he asked, a somewhat amused expression tracing another smile across his thin, bloodstained lips. Sasori had certainly changed since his fifteenth birthday.

Gaara growled and gathered the fabric of Sasori's scarf roughly in his hand and pulled the smaller boy off of the cement floor, leaving Sasori's feet dangling a few inches from the ground since Gaara easily outmatched him in height.

"Could you IMAGINE what your parents would think if they saw you like this?!" Instantly, Gaara regretted his statement, seeing Sasori's eyes grow darker with hatred. The exacto-knife clattered to the floor. "What about Chiyo-baasama?" Gaara corrected, his voice more sincere. "…what if she saw you—"

Sasori instantly broke Gaara's sentence with a voice that could put a robot to shame. "She's fighting the war against Konoha. My parents were taken from me by that damn village… Rousoku-Sensei is Kazekage now – he has no time for me. He's too busy picking up the Second's mess." His voice grew louder as he continued talking. Sasori grabbed Gaara's hand and pried the fingers off of his scarf until he was released, stumbling on his feet before regaining his balance.

"I can't care anymore. I don't WANT to care anymore! This is the only way. Imagine the possibilities! With a puppet's body, you can go days without food… without water… without pain or suffering! Only limitless power and potential at your fingertips… I could live forev—" but he was silenced with another slap across the face.

"I'm not letting you do this to yourself. You've gone weeks without a bite to eat, you've been cutting yourself, and now it's made you delusional. Sasori, there's no way you can become a puppet!" Gaara snapped. "I'm not going to sit back and watch you mutilate yourself."

"How sentimental." Sasori chuckled. "None of you would ever understand anyway." He straightened himself and made his way toward the door. "I'm going to talk to Sandaime."

A hand gruffly grabbed his shoulder, and pressed him against the wall. Sasori stared Gaara in the face, a smile mocking the seriousness in the darker-haired teen's eyes.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with my uncle, Sasori." Gaara growled.

Sasori's smile widened, but he didn't dare say a word when Gaara got this angry. Like Sasori, Gaara was one of the few who had awakened his chakra. They both shared inner-demons. Sasori had only seen Gaara's once after he heard his mother had been killed after giving birth to him. Shukaku was the name of Gaara's demon if he remembered correctly.

Sasori had never used his inner-demon Hiroku before. He intended on keeping it that way, for now. Hiroku was something that was born with him since his chakra was awakened when he was an infant. Sasori had planned on finally releasing the demon until Gaara had intervened.

"Why so serious?" Sasori asked tauntingly, though he knew too well that he could never tell Gaara what was really happening when the Kazekage and he were alone together. "He's like a father to me. Chiyo-baa trusts him… he used to watch me when she was too busy."

Gaara raised an eyebrow and shot Sasori a suspicious glance. Sasori never changed the expression on his face, so the other released Sasori and took a few steps back. Sasori briskly turned his back to Gaara and made his way for the door again. Before his hand reached the knob, he heard a rush of wind and sand behind, meaning Gaara had gone.

He was used to the house being empty. Sasori, his grandmother, and his great-uncle lived along the outside of Suna's protective wall. Chiyo was very high-up in the city, so they received many visitor's seeking medical help or advice, but Sasori disliked being around strangers so he usually made himself scarce. The house was bigger than he imagined being able to fit three people. Sasori's bedroom was on the top floor at the very end of the hallway, but he preferred being two doors down where the puppets were kept.

The redhead searched the front closet for his long, thick scarf. He wrapped it thoroughly around his neck, nose and forehead to conceal as much of him as possible to protect his skin from the sand particle projectiles the wind picked up along the cliffs his house dwelled on.

The front door spilled into the garden his grandmother usually sat with her brother. There was a small, round pool in the center they usually stocked with rare koi imported from the Kirikagure. There were small herbs lining the walls of the greenhouse his grandmother kept for medical purposes. Sasori never took after his grandmother, and preferred just the opposite of remedies – poisons. He kept a hidden compartment under one of the loose floorboards in the room across from his to store the poisonous substances he found on his journeys.

He closed the door tightly behind him and was instantly greeted by a loud howling in his ears from the winds. He had made the journey from his house to Suna's gates so many times before, he could do it blindfolded. With his arms hugged tightly to his chest and his head bowed, he journeyed along the cliff path toward the Southern Gate.

Most of the ANBU at the gate knew him as "Chiyo's grandson", so of course they trusted him to go through. Usually, he'd turn left and go though an alley to get to where Rousoku used to live, but now that he lived in the Kazekage's palace, he would have to go through the main marketplace. He didn't bother removing the turban that was wrapped around his head since he couldn't stand seeing people stare at him. People were much too preoccupied with their shopping to notice him. Everyone was in a hurry, and it always seemed to be in the opposite direction Sasori was heading. Moments like this earned him bumps and brushes of his shoulder and elbows in the stomach and chest.

The market was irregularly busy today since traders had brought in a fresh shipment of fruits that could never be grown in desert soil. Sasori noticed a lot of crowding along the peach and apple stands. He contemplated buying one since hiking though desert winds had made his mouth dry, but he remembered that Rousoku would most-likely have a bowl of them at his desk. If not, Chiyo would probably bring a basket home.

Once he broke through of the crowds, he was still a while away from the center of the city. Suna was still a little primitive since the Second Kazekage refused to have cars imported from Konoha. There were still horse-drawn carriages sprawled around the city, but it was very rare to find a car driving through the streets.

The redhead slipped into an alley to avoid another flock of people crowing around a busy restaurant. He slowly pulled the scarf from around his head and let it droop nimbly around his shoulders. A hand found its way into his hair to ruffle most of the sand out of it.

He felt another bump against his shoulder as person with long, black hair whizzed past him. The force instantly knocked him onto his back again. At least the sand was softer than the pavement Gaara kept dropping him on. When he got to his feet and brushed himself off, he noticed the man had gone.

"He was in a hurry…" he muttered, taking the same path through the alley to get to a less-busier side of the streets. He could see the windows of the palace gleaming in the sunlight. He secretly hoped the Kazekage wasn't in the midst of any meetings by the time he arrived – he hated waiting. Especially for him.

Sasori had to tell the guards who he was when he reached the palace. At first, they asked him if he had a meeting with the Kazekage. His name didn't matter, more like his title: "Elder Chiyo's Grandson" Sasori. They finally let him in with an ANBU guard following closely behind him. He knew the Kazekage's palace backwards: Chiyo brought him here many times when he was little when she needed to talk to the Second. Sasori navigated through the hallways and up the stairs of the oddly-shaped round palace to the top floor where the office resided. He still had the ANBU following him when the door was opened. He felt a great weight lift off his chest when Rousoku dismissed the guard.

"Sasori, my nephew just came by." Sandaime admitted as he went back to sit at his desk.

"Kankuro?" Sasori asked hopefully. He was Gaara's older brother and the only other nephew besides Gaara the Kazekage had. Kankuro was older than Sasori, and shared the same interest in puppets, but he wasn't as talented as Sasori.

"Gaara." The Kazekage answered. "May I see your hands?"

Sasori regretfully paced toward the Kazekage's desk and pulled his sleeves to show the deep cuts running along his wrists. He felt the Kazekage's forceful fingers agilely seize his wrists to feel them, causing Sasori to wince. When Rousoku moved his hands away, there were little red marks on his hands from the dried blood sticking to Sasori's arms. The redhead instantly covered his wrists with his sleeves as if doing so would make Sandaime forget seeing them.

"So," that one word made Sasori flinch, "might I ask what you're planning?"

Sasori trusted Sandaime above anyone else, but even this was too much to tell. He hated people thinking he was mad. "It's nothing, Sen—Kazekage… just a cry out for help." A lie, of course, the last thing he wanted was help or another person to tell him that he was insane.

"I know you better than that. Is this because I took the throne?" He asked with an intent gaze on the redhead in hope of meeting his eyes.

"Of course not." He lied again. It was somewhat true, but there was much more to it.

"I'm not going to give you any lectures… it appears my nephew already did it for me." The older man said after a considerable amount of silence. He gestured to the small welt left on Sasori's right cheek from when Gaara had slapped him. Sasori managed a small smile, but decided it best to keep quiet and listen for Sandaime to talk again.

"You're covered in dust."

Sasori's heart lightened knowing that Rousoku had decided to change the subject. "Some commoner bumped into me and knocked me over. The peaches are rather popular today… I'm surprised there are still some traders from Konoha who've come to trade with us."

"I can't say that the Konoha people who still trade with us are legal. They care more about prophets than this war. This war is costing both of our countries great amounts. What's worse is the damage Iwa is taking from all of this. They sell a lot of artillery to both sides of this war, and many of their people are being killed as collateral damage."

"I could care less about that damn country." He snapped, pulling up a chair and taking a seat before the desk. "Iwa is the reason my parents are dead."

Rousoku sighed seeing that his attempt at a subject change wasn't helping Sasori's mood any. The redhead got to his feet again, walking over to the opposite side of the desk. He sat up on the surface so his face was just inches apart from the other man's.

"…Sasori, I--"

"…yes…?" the redhead cooed while his eyes fell closed. He leaned in closer, teasing Sandaime with a brush of his lips.

"I can't… we can't… anymore." Sasori opened his eyes and leaned back to meet a very serious look on Rousoku's face. Sasori didn't seem to understand.

"What do you mean?" Sasori asked bluntly, blinking a few times.

"I'm the Kazekage. I'm not… I just can't. We can't do this anymore." he admitted sadly. The redhead's face fell and replaced itself with an angrier expression.

"…and you think… just because you've gone up a few ranks in this city… that you have to change what you think about me? You were the one that started this whole mess." Honestly, Sasori couldn't remember how it started; he just knew it was Sandaime's fault. He wrapped his hands around the beige scarf adorning the Kazekage's neck, pulling him closer. Whether it was a threat or for seductive purposes was a mystery to the both of them. It had to go one way or another, and it went the way Sasori had planned.

Their lips locked like magnets. His arms wrung tightly around the neck of the black-haired man, a quiet moan seeping through a crack in the kiss. They stayed frozen like statues for what seemed like an eternity before Sasori felt the other's lips pull away. He dare not open his eyes. Sandaime's breath was warm on his lips, meaning they weren't as far apart as he thought.

"…come back later. I have a meeting to go to soon." He heard the other man whisper before the gap was closed in another long, breathless kiss. Sasori moaned softly in acknowledgement and got to his feet again. Neither of them bothered to look at each other before the redhead exited the office. The ANBU guard was standing down the hallway to escort him out.

He wound a turban around his head using the scarf dangling around his neck and reentered the busy marketplace. The crowds had died down now that the fruits were purchased and gone. It was faster making his way out of Suna than it was getting in.

Sasori turned into an alley to cross into another street leading to the southern gates. The sky was painted orange and red, meaning a setting sun and promising a dramatic temperature drop. He could already feel the cool air against his skin, which was a welcoming replacement for the scorching heat earlier.

He stopped, taking a glance back at the palace so far away from where he was standing. A second pair of footsteps crunched against the sand behind him, causing him to turn around. Sasori locked eyes with the stranger he met earlier – the one who bumped into him.

His black hair was slick and shiny, his face pale as the snow is white. A pair of yellow, dangerous eyes locked with the light brown ones so curiously watching him, each one lined with purple tattoos. Sasori took a step back, hoping the stranger was staring at another man behind him.

"I would never expect someone as young as you to have such prominent abilities."

His voice and appearance reminded Sasori of a snake. "What do you want with me?" he asked.

"My name is Orochimaru, and you and I are very alike…" Sasori almost felt insulted. The snake decided to attack the conversation from a different angle. "I can see your chakra. Another Akatsuki."

Sasori's eyes lit up. So, he and Gaara weren't the only ones.

"How long have you had your abilities?" Orochimaru questioned with a satisfied smile as if he were ready to devour the redhead whole.

"…fifteen years. I've had them as long as I could remember." He answered simply, taking a cautious step back. "You're not from Suna, are you? Are you a spy from Konoha?" He could care less about either countries; he was just curious.

"Konoha, but I don't much consider it my village anymore. I guess you could call me a runaway."

A criminal. Sasori smiled, getting more interested in the conversation. "You don't say…"

"I belong to an organization in Konoha called Akatsuki, full of people like you and I… outcasts of society just because we're better than them. I mean you… you only get respect in here because of your relations."

"Have you been following me?" Sasori growled.

"Perhaps. But only because I found you… interesting."

The redhead walked slowly past the other man, deeming their conversation over. In a flash, Orochimaru was in front of him again, blocking his path. "You don't belong here."

"I don't belong anywhere… just so long as I have my puppets, I'm home." Sasori, taking on the challenge, disappeared and reappeared further away from Orochimaru and made his way toward the southern gate.

"Sasori, is it?"

He stopped, turning around to face Orochimaru, while keeping a cautious distance between the two of them.

"You know you don't want to be here… and I can offer you a way out. A month from now, I'll return to this very spot in the village. If you want to come back with me, I can take you. If you'd rather rot away in this village and bury your potential, then stay."

Sasori remained speechless. The black haired man gave a gracious bow.

"Until then."

And with that, he was gone.

Sasori walked out of the gates at a faster pace, bordering a run. The wind was quieter, so it was faster making it home. His great uncle was present, but his grandmother was still missing. He didn't bother with returning his "Good evening, Sasori", instead going straight to his room after snatching up one of the pears sitting on the kitchen counter.

He closed and locked the door to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed while taking a generous bite of the pear. He stared at the revolving ceiling fan as he finished the last of his pear.

By the time his grandmother had returned home, Sasori was back in Sandaime's office. Sasori decided it was best not to bring up his encounter with Orochimaru, or to tell Sandaime that he was actually considering his offer. He didn't stay long. As soon as Sandaime was done, he re-clothed himself and left.

He walked out of the palace into the frozen night air without a second glance. It was a beautiful night with the full moon lighting up the streets. Surely, a cold dinner was waiting for him at home along with a concerned grandmother. It wasn't uncommon for him to be gone for long periods of time. Before Rousoku was Kazekage, he would stay hours or even days at his house, but being with Sandaime made him feel like nothing but a stranger when they were together now, so he had no choice but to go home and listen to his grandmother's ranting about how worried she was. A small laugh escaped his lips at the thought of it.

"Hey kid."

He froze and turned his head barely over his shoulder to catch a quick glimpse at the man standing behind him. The first thing his eyes caught was the ANBU badge glistening on his chest. A lowly growl formed in his throat.

"There's a curfew in this village. It's already past eleven o'clock." He barked advancing on Sasori's back. "Hey, kid. I'm talking to you! Where are your parents?" –Sasori snapped, reaching into his pocket— "They're probably worried sick about y—"

Sasori rounded on his heel and drove the exacto knife from his pocket into the side of the man's neck. The knife hit one of the main arteries, splattering a fountain of blood onto Sasori's face. The man collapsed onto his back, his blood soaking into the sand.

There was something about the way the moon's reflection rippled away in the pool of blood that made the redhead's skin crawl with an almost pleasurable sense. His eyes were filled to the brim with terrified tears, but a sadistic smile had managed to slither its way to form onto his slightly twitching lips. A silent laugh choked in the back of his throat, but the little amount of sanity left in his mind fought the urge to push it any further than a whisper.

A hand pressed against his twitching lips as stomach acid persistently pushed up the back of his throat. Sasori fought the urge to move his hand from his mouth, the sickening liquid returning to the bowels of his stomach and churning painfully in retaliation. The throbbing pain made him recoil.

The wind whispered softly in his ears, providing a nostalgic feeling to the dust that was materializing over the alleyway. The cold tore at the feeble flesh of his tear-drenched cheeks and exposed earlobes. The melodic dripping of the excess blood chimed in flawlessly; each droplet onto the sand setting a metronomic beat to the howling wind. He dropped the blood-drenched knife at his feet, an instant shiver running up his spine from the metallic clatter breaking the silence. His eyes darted to the blood clinging to the palm of his hand, before he pulled the sweet liquid to his lips. He licked the blood off of one of his fingers with a strange hunger coursing through his veins. It left him addicted and hungry for more.

Yet his demanding hunger was still insatiable.

His tears spilled relentlessly down his cheeks and lingered with the red compliments stained on the corners of his lips. A tongue flicked out from between his sealed lips and wiped him clean of the salty liquid.

In the midst of the sea of blood before him, a lifeless figure lay with fear etched into every lining on his face; the same face Sasori saw when his blade had sunk into the fragile, delicate skin on the man's neck. There was no sign of life left in his eyes, which made the dark irises only grow darker with each passing second. But the fear lingered and held on effortlessly though his life was drained away. The darkness made it easier to see the full moon reflecting in his eyes… death was surely a beautiful sight.

Sasori's voice cracked countless times in a futile attempt to laugh. He wanted the tears to stop, but they never showed any sign of doing so. The desire only made them flow faster. His humanity, or what little of it he had, was draining it away with every tear. Each droplet brought the memories away, giving the fresh smell of blood its chance to replace his virgin heart with hate and malice.

"…y-yes… _human_ puppets… tha-that's it…!"

He paced at the man's feet, taking in every inch of the mattered corpse and implanting the image into his memory. His artistic mind slowly dissected the individual steps to turn the unrecognizable human body into a beautiful work of art; truly the most beautiful of the puppets and the envy of his collection.

-:- -:-

A gasping breath pierced the silence, forcing Sasori's eyes open. He looked up at the ghostly-white figure of Deidara sitting up with his face buried in his hands. Judging by his labored breath, there were tears in his eyes to match the desperate gulps for air.

"Deidara…" Sasori cooed, getting up on one of his elbows. The blonde refused to look at him whether it was embarrassment from the tears or fear from his nightmare. The redhead reached out for his shoulder to turn the blonde toward him, but failed in the attempt. Deidara was in hysterics.

"Deidara…" The blonde slowly turned to meet Sasori's eyes.

"…D-Danna… I-I… I just had the worst nightmare, un." Deidara admitted, tears pouring from his eyes. "…Y-you… you weren't the one who killed my parents… w-were you?" Sasori slowly shook his head.

"As soon as you were finished with Pein, you walked into my room and collapsed on my bed. You fell asleep almost instantly… I don't blame you… awakenings are tiring." The redhead fell back on the bed. "…come back to bed. It's almost three in the morning…"

Deidara turned away again and lay on the bed with his back pressed against Sasori's chest. He felt a hand slip around his waist as soon as his head hit the pillow. Sasori hummed a single note in Deidara's ear and closed his eyes again. Deidara stared off at the wall with widened eyes.

He could feel Sasori's silent breath against the back of his neck after the redhead had fallen captive to sleep.

It took until six in the morning for Deidara to finally manage some amount of sleep. He had already fallen out of his habit of getting up in the early morning. There were times even when he woke up after Sasori. This day was one of those very few.

Sasori disappeared later that day with Orochimaru. Deidara was forced to confine himself to Sasori's room again and spend the night pondering what Orochimaru was doing to the redhead on their mission. He spent most of the day lying on his back and watching the blades revolve around the ceiling fan.

Later on in the day, he heard a knock at the door.

"Deidara, it's Kisame."

The blonde rose to his feet with a hand gently rubbing his eye. Sure enough, when he opened the door, the towering half-shark was standing in the hallway. The blue-tinted man bared his sharp teeth as he talked, making Deidara stand back a few paces. He still wasn't used to being around such abnormal people.

"Pein wants to talk to you immediately."

This seemed to be the only thing Deidara was hearing from any of the Akatsuki members had been saying to him for the past few weeks he had been here.

Kisame left without delay as soon as his message was delivered. The blonde dragged a hand down the front of his face and then moved to push his bangs over the left side of his face. Ever since his eye was replaced with Sasori's hideous scope, he became more self-conscious about hiding it. The only use he could find for his night-vision was to prevent from bumping into anything when he was sneaking food out of the fridge.

He turned out of Sasori's room in the slowest pace possible. He turned back to close the door behind him and held tightly to the doorknob until he decided he would finally face the infuriating leader. Deidara closed in on the door down the hallway and reached out to knock on the door. As expected, it was opened inches before his hand reached the wood. Unexpectedly, Pein was standing in the doorway instead of Konan, who usually greeted him.

"Good evening." He greeted. Even in that robotic tone, he sounded happier than usual. Deidara returned the greeting with a bow – customary since he was now officially, and almost unwillingly, a member and Pein's subordinate.

"Good evening, Pein…sama… un." He hesitated, still annoyed with having to add the suffix to Pein's name.

"I'm taking you and Sasori to the fields." Pein was always very blunt and quick to get to the subject. "You'll be fighting him." Deidara's eyes widened.

"F-fight him? But… I can't… all I can use is a gun—!" he retorted with his hands held up defensively. His palm mouths frowned at Pein.

"All of us are organized by skill level. I want to organize you, so I'm using Sasori."

"Why him? Can't it be someone else, un?"

"Itachi refused."

"Hidan, un?"

"Refused."

"Why does Sasori want to fight me, un?"

"Because he's been here longer than most of the members. He's high-ranking. Itachi, Orochimaru, and Sasori are my most-skilled subordinates."

Deidara crossed his arms and looked away.

"Sasori is waiting for you in Shinshuu field." Shinshuu field was an open area on the outskirts of the main city. The once green place Deidara remembered as a child was filled with construction. The city was planning on building a highway and a shopping mall in the area. "I'll meet the two of you later."

-:- -:-

"Kazekage, there's a message for you from one of the ANBU."

Sandaime removed the reading glasses and placed them on his desk atop the report he was reading. "Send him in." he said in a half-whisper. The guard bowed and left the room. Rousoku turned his attention to the golden-orange glow emitting from the window. Perhaps it was another report about another killing in his village. Of course, it would be Sasori playing the role of the killer. The Kazekage propped his feet on the chair beside him and folded his hands in his lap with his focus on the door.

A man spilled in the room and gave the Kazekage a pathetic bow, more like he was pushed than giving respect. He stumbled toward and desk and fumbled with the letter in his hands.

"…K-Kazekaga-sama… the council j-just received a l-letter from Elder Chiyo about her grandson, S-Sasori…" the man stammered as his shaking hands pried out the note from the envelope.

'…_another killing…'_ Sandaime mused, _'that boy is throwing his life away. I can't keep getting him out of these situations or the council will remove me from my position.' _The Kazekage silently blamed himself and his neglecting for the boy's lashing out. "On with it. Who did that boy kill this time?"

The messenger flinched and gave another bow. "…s-sir… y-you don't underst-stand…! He's… dead."

Rousoku's eyes flashed open instantly. He found himself leaning over his desk with the same shocked look buried in his hands. "…suicide… his g-grandmother found him dead this m-morning… th-they suspect h-hanging."

The messenger excused himself and scurried out of the room without bothering to bow.

-:- -:-

It had been the first time Deidara had been outside since the night Sasori's apartment was set on fire. It felt strange to be able to run so fast without putting so much effort on his legs. It was as if he was seeing the world in slow motion the way he navigated so easily through the rushing crowds. Within minutes, the city had cleared out of its buildings and into the suburbs. The suburbs flattened into fields and the fields opened into Shinshuu.

Sure enough, the familiar redhead was sitting atop one of the stalling bulldozers. He seemed to sense Deidara's presence immediately since his head was cocked in his direction. When the gold and black distortion blurred back into Deidara, he smiled.

"You really enjoy making me wait. I've been here for a couple of hours." The smile faded into a serious frown as he leapt onto the dirt. "Stubborn blonde."

Deidara rolled his eyes and walked closer to Sasori.

"I'm sure Pein's made you aware that you'll be fighting me. It'll be one-sided – all I'll be doing is dodging while you give it your all." Sasori stared up at the sky with a smile. "Of course, there will be collateral damage. But it's no fun if you don't destroy anything in the process. With your talent, it won't be that hard to pull off."

Deidara gave a sarcastic smirk and switched his attention to the smoke rising from the trucks a few yards away. He felt Sasori's hand clasp around the front of shirt and his head jerked down until their eyes were locked on the others'. "Are you afraid of me?" Sasori mused as he brushed his lips against the blonde's nose.

"…n-no…" he whimpered in return. Sasori let lose of Deidara's shirt and pulled back a few feet.

"Then give me all you've got."

The two of them picked a spot a far amount of distance from each other. Sasori took his spot atop the roof one of the abandoned bulldozers. While watching Sasori, Deidara found his eyes starting to wander around the construction site for any sign of Pein or Konan.

"Are you going to attack me, or will I have to attack you? I'm not very fond of waiting." Sasori shouted from across the field with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

Deidara regretfully admitted to himself that he had no idea how to control his abilities, or even if they existed. His encounter with his inner-self seemed like such a bizarre dream that he questioned if it was real. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Sasori, so he focused on the skeleton of an underway apartment complex a fair distance away from the two of them. His only eye narrowed, and he imagined the place bursting in flames, but nothing seemed to be happening. He heard an annoyed groan come from Sasori's direction.

A tug at his pants caught his attention as he noticed the palm mouth from his right hand chewing at his black jeans. He jerked his hand up toward his face and glared it down. Still, the hand refused to give up grinning, a piece of the material hanging from the side of its mouth.

The palm mouth's tongue slipped out, devoured the jean material and began chewing it. Deidara scowled at the newly formed hole in his jeans. Surprisingly, after a few seconds of the same chewing motion, it spat out a piece of what looked like drenched paper into Deidara's palm. The trademark grin appeared again as Deidara's fingers closed around the small, shapeless blob.

As if by habit, he found his fingers working intently at the blob. It fiddled around between his fingers for a few seconds before his palm opened once again. The blob had turned into a very detailed sculpture of a tiny hawk. Deidara outstretched his hand as the hawk outspread its wings and took into the air, hovering over Deidara's nose for a few seconds before it disappeared in a blur.

A loud explosion rocketed over the field. The bulldozer Sasori was standing on had vanished in smoke and rubble. He heard the nearby construction workers converse in amazement and fear as they stared down what used to be a bulldozer. Everything the hawk had touched was turned into dust.

"…D-Danna?!" he was half-convinced Sasori had been obliterated as well. He whirled around, looking in every direction for the missing puppeteer.

"Well, that was rather exciting." Deidara wheeled around and locked eyes with the puppeteer. "But if you want to be ranked properly, you need to attack me like you want to kill me. If it happens? Oh well. You'll just be able to shoot up the ranks." Sasori smiled and vanished in a blur. Deidara caught a glimpse of the redhead appearing right over his shoulder. His eye narrowed, but he refused to turn his back to look at Sasori.

"_I don't think you want to kill the man who killed your father."_

Both his palm mouths ripped at his jeans and swallowed a large amount of the material. Seconds later, the two of them spat up the shapeless material, and Deidara took his part of shaping them into birds.

"_I was the one who killed them."_

He released the birds. The both of them whizzed past Deidara's ears and zoomed toward Sasori's location. The two birds collided beside the redhead and instantly swallowed the space behind him in a fiery black hole. Deidara turned around and stared back at his exertion in disbelief.

"A-rank."

Sasori stood before Deidara with that same emotionless stare, focused on a crane to Deidara's right. "Your attack is very effective, but it takes too long to accomplish. You're best for dishing a great amount of damage in short periods of time." There was something in his voice that sounded like he was shivering.

The blonde raised an eyebrow while his scope focused on searching the field for Pein.

"Pein's not here." There he goes again with that mind-reading. "He asked for me to fight you. I can't _fight _if I'm only dodging. That would be _analyzing. _I'll alert Pein of your placement later." Deidara nodded while subconsciously keeping his palm mouths away from his already destroyed jeans.

A distant rumbling broke the sound barrier causing Deidara to turn his attention to the sky. A jet rocketed over the field with four comrades trailing behind it. The blonde flinched from the loud blaring attacking his ears. He swallowed at the thought of Sasori and the rest of the Akatsuki setting him up. Perhaps the planes were coming for him.

Once the jets had disappeared over the distant mountains, Deidara caught eye of the smile plastered on Sasori's face. His worries skyrocketed again.

"Danna… why do you look so happy, un?"

"The war's about to start."

-:- -:-

Candlelight flickered over the shadows in the hallway, a steady and delicate hand holding it before its master. The door at the end of the hallway creaked open and the candlelight fled into the dark room. The hallow puppets swayed in the chilling desert wind sweeping in through the open window, which the figure closed with an unsettling creaking noise. Chiyo placed the candle on her grandson's abandoned desk and stroked her fingers over the surface of the amber wood.

The ANBU police had already removed the noose and the body, but the memory was so fresh, it was as if her grandson were still hanging by the neck in the corner. No matter how sad Chiyo was, she couldn't manage a single tear, and thinking about it tore her up a little more inside. She barely knew her grandson as a person anymore. To her, he was always the little bundle of blankets and silk she held when her son and his wife were out. The boy who died was nothing more than a stranger to her.

Sasori became a very distant person after his parents deceased. She tried to keep her close relationship with her grandson, but the war beckoned her to the battlefields. Sasori was sent away to stay at the Hokage's palace to be watched by Rousoku. Gaara was always good company – Sasori and he had a lot in common. However, every day Chiyo returned home for her grandson, he was more and more a different person.

The boy who died was precious, but the one she loved.

Chiyo cradled the candle in her hands, brushing the dust off of the desk, and shuffled off to the other side of the room. Sasori's bed lay, made, neat and neglected. Behind it were the few memories the redhead held precious: the last photographs of his parents. Her son was a handsome man. Sasori looked so much like his father, but his eyes were as beautiful as her daughter-in-law's. The redhead always held them for granted, which is why she always sent her grandson to his room when he scowled.

He didn't want to celebrate his fifteenth birthday; he spent the night locked up in his room. Chiyo would like to think that everything after that was the worst Sasori had been acting. She never would have suspected murder, though. If Chiyo wasn't as wealthy, or had the support of Sandaime, the redhead would most-likely be in prison. He had claimed the lives of four people that the police and her knew of, but disappearances were unknown since they were in the midst of a war.

Nevertheless, she would never expect it to end as a suicide. When he was little, Sasori always schemed with Gaara about their dreams to be soldiers or even the next Kazekage. Serial killer was never under Sasori's list, and Chiyo blamed herself partly for the change in his behavior.

The silver-haired woman retreated from the room and made her way down the hallway to go join her brother in their garden. She put her foot down on the first stair when a sudden shiver shot up her spine. The candlelight flickered out, replacing the hallway with darkness and a sliver of lavender-scented smoke. Bending down to rid herself of the candle, she made her way back toward Sasori's room.

The door opened with its usual chilling creak. Looking into the room made her skin crawl with a distressing fear. A floorboard creaked somewhere through the room, but her feet were solidified and afraid to move. The moonlight created enough light in the room to pick out the dark blue walls and the black shadows. One of the shadows was moving.

"Ebisu?" she safely assumed it was her brother since he would be the only other person in the house after the police had left hours ago. The figure froze as if it finally realized her presence, but quickly returned to business. Chiyo swallowed a lump in her throat and backed a few paces. And groped at the wall to her left for the light switch and flooded the room with light. She was barely able to catch a glimpse of the figure's foot before it darted behind the desk.

She found herself reaching for one of the candlesticks sitting on the table nearest to her. She slowly inched toward the desk side, candle raised like a cardboard sword of frightened knight about to battle a dragon. The man rose with his back facing her, two wing-like objects erecting from his lower back. She recognized that shade of red instantly.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." The voice however, was impossible to recognize, making her feel as if he was an apparition of her grandson. The redhead turned his back to face his grandmother and locked eyes with her. The only thing she found herself focusing on the blood red color infesting his eyes. A placid smirk appeared on Sasori's lips.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." The candlestick clattered to the floor, and Sasori followed it with his terrifying eyes. "But, here I am – alive and in the flesh."

"…S-Sasori… I-I… how…?"

"Puppets. It's not that hard to create a doppelganger after you're only company as been dead heaps of wood hanging in the room next door." Sasori hissed. "You learn how to work with them after a while. I've just returned for my things. I'm leaving this godforsaken village to join the Akatsuki."

"…Sasori… I-I'm so sorry… it's the war… I-I would've spent more time with you, but I—"

"You had better things to do than take care of your own grandson?" he finished with a raised eyebrow. "You just sat back and watched him slip through your fingers like sand… one grain a time. And now look at me." He outstretched his arms, the bladed wings rising with them. He noticed that Chiyo had moved further away from him. He couldn't help but smile. "You don't think that I can let you go after this."

He paced toward her, hands raised and wings outstretched. Before she could so much as lean back, a number of blue threads darted out of Sasori's fingertips and wrapped themselves around her arms.

"Of course, I need the ANBU to think of me dead still… I can't have you telling them… but, if I just kill you, then I'll have to deal with the ANBU having me as a distinct possibility for a suspect. A suicide could do nicely." The threads dug deep into his grandmother's delicate skin and flowed into her bloodstream. With a flick of his finger, his grandmother soon found herself creating a noose out of one of Sasori's sheets.

He watched the whole thing with a sickly, satisfied smile on his face. The threads retreated, dropping blood on the floor before sinking back into the redhead's fingertips. Gathering up the last of his things, he made his way out of his bedroom door, flicking the light switch off without a second look.

"It's been fun, Chiyo-baa…"

-:- -:- -:-

Author's Note – Such a morbid chapter, isn't it? I'm back in school now, so chapter s will come slower than usual… I hope this one makes up for my absence (even though this chapter kinda sucked). Review and I might get a little more motivation. Forgive the typoness... this chapter was particularly harder to write than most, so when I did type, I rushed. Sorry...


	10. Serendipity

Chapter ten – Serendipity

Author's Note: NOW I HAVE PROOF THAT MY STORY SUCKS. I think I received a total of three reviews for the last chapter. Moral is gone now. Yea, I'll finish the story, I promise. I'm sorry it took me REALLY long to finish. I'm SO sorry about the long wait… It's just… all of this school crap and homework crap I have to deal with really clogs up your time. This chapter has A LOT of cursing it (you can guess why), so just a warning. HAPPY THANKSGIVING BREAK!

-:- -:-

"I'm glad you've decided to join me,"

"I had no choice. Seeing as I've committed far too many taboos already,"

The man in the beige robe chuckled – a maniacal, cackling laugh that sent daggers into the other's spine. The first man noticed this, and quickly closed in on his prey. The shorter of the two took a step back to avoid the other's breath, his turban blowing in the desert winds picking up around them.

"C'mon, Sasori, don't tell me you regret your decision," the man addressing the puppeteer cackled again. Sasori narrowed his eyes.

Nights here drop below freezing. If you want to live to see another day, I suggest you follow my direction and keep that freakish tongue inside your mouth," Sasori snapped at the taller man.

The hood slipped off, revealing Orochimaru's jet black hair. The wind quickly claimed it, blowing its greasy strands in the dusty storm. Sasori narrowed his eyes, whether it be from annoyance or to avoid the sand projectiles, and started walking due South in the direction of Konoha. Orochimaru followed, assuring that his closeness to the redhead left an awkward feeling in the air.

Sasori had only navigated out of Suna two or three times, but he memorized every step he needed to take to get out. The sand slowly materialized into vegetation, and the warm, dry atmosphere into a wet, cool river country.

Much to Orochimaru's surprise, Sasori took a sharp right and started heading west. Before Orochimaru could question his movement, Sasori spoke.

"There's something I need to do…"

He vanished, abandoning Orochimaru in his dust.

-:- -:-

It was Thursday.

Deidara sorely lifted himself from the couch with dry tears softly clinging to his eyelashes. Usually he'd be shocked, but Sasori being gone wasn't much of an oddity to him anymore. The last words he heard from him, after all, were "The war's about to start". Somehow, he felt as if it meant "goodbye" the way Sasori vanished after they had returned to the Akatsuki base.

So… why was he crying?

It was that dream again – that nightmare that had haunted him since he could remember. The thing that terrified him the most was that it wasn't a nightmare at all… but a memory. A very vivid memory.

When was young and spending his seventh year at the orphanage, he remembered one of the nuns working there – Okaasan, he called her since she was the closest thing to a mother he ever had – told him that the couple who had promised to take him home decided on another child. Deidara broke away from Okaasan's hug, burst out of the iron gates guarding the orphanage, and spilled into the city with tears trailing down his cheeks. He found himself running into a dirty, dark alleyway, all the while, scraping his knees and hands on the pavement. The blonde crouched into a corner with his face buried in his bloody knees.

A pair of footsteps graced his ears with their heavy, trudged presence. He looked up, meeting the gaze of a middle-aged man with a very rough, dirtied face. He could remember every detail about him vividly. He had some brown hair left, though chunks of it were missing, and what little hair he had remaining was hoary. His face was unshaven, and a beard seemed to be on the brink of growing. His face was covered in scars, and his nose was slightly misshapen. His clothes and boots were worn though. Before he could get a proper gaze of him – even though one look was enough to permanently carve the memory away in his mind – he found the man lunging at him. He remembered a scream, but whether it came from himself or his attacker didn't seem to matter. What mattered was the fact that he was now splattered in blood. The next sound was definitely the scream of his aggressor. He stood up, watching as the man collapsed in a sea of his own blood, very much dead.

He instantly switched his gaze to the stranger who had driven the knife though the man's cold, no longer beating heart. He remembered seeing pale white skin, but the top half of his face was concealed by a heavy hoodie. His guardian abruptly fled the scene without so much as a second glance at his no longer damsel in distress.

What really bothered him was that he could remember the face of his attacker so vividly, but he could not remember much, if anything at all, of the stranger who rescued him.

Perhaps that was the most haunting part about his nightmare. He was a cop – he's seen scarier criminals who've done worse things to children, but the fact remained that the man who saved him was still a mystery.

"SHIT!"

He shot up instantly, as if on cue, and dashed into the kitchen where the noise had come from. A very unpleasant smell reached his nose, and his hands quickly darted to cover it up. Hidan was in the kitchen, cursing at his hand, which he had burned on the stove. Hidan instantly noticed Deidara's presence and moved to the opposite side of the kitchen to run it under some cold water. Deidara hesitated to ask why Hidan was cooking in the first place.

"If you're looking for your sex toy, he's out with his partner," Hidan said simply. He was used to the way Hidan addressed people. Strangely enough, he had not come up with a nickname for Orochimaru yet. Perhaps it was a silent form of respect, or fear. None of the Akatsuki seemed to want to stand up to Orochimaru, apart from Itachi. He had yet to learn about this story, but what mattered now was that Orochimaru wanted nothing to do with Deidara after he nearly blew the snake to kingdom come.

"Shit… shit…!" Hidan cursed, holding his shaking hands under the faucet.

Deidara ran a troubled hand through his bangs, contemplating starting conversation with Hidan.

"I heard you made A-Rank," Hidan started with groan as he pulled his hands from under the water, "Congradu-fucking-lations." Though it didn't appear that way, Deidara thought Hidan was actually congratulating him. "How was it fighting the Scorpling? I heard he's damn hard to beat…"

"I didn't really fight him. All he did was dodge everything, un…" Deidara admitted, trying to sound disappointed. Hidan arched an eyebrow as if to inquire that he wanted more information than that; information Deidara was not willing to give at the given time.

"Sucks," he finally stated when he realized that Deidara didn't want to talk.

"Sasori said something about… a war," The blonde started in hope Hidan knew about it.

"Well, you're in Akatsuki now… you'd better get used to hearing that word!" The religious man smiled, trying to pull off the cool-guy routine as if he belonged to some exclusive club. Seeing Deidara's expression unfazed, his expression eased and he continued with a less enthusiastic tone: "Yea, but seriously, kid. That's our whole reason for existing, or didn't you know? We're not here just to look cool,"

Deidara still looked puzzled, but intrigued.

"Look: our sole purpose for existence is that one word: War. That pierced dick-of-a-leader sells us to highest bidding side, and we fight until the war is officially over or if another side pays higher for our services. I may be new to this organization, but I know that Pein's gone though way too many of people like us. You're lucky if your chakra allows immortality. Jashin-sama gave me these powers, but for my immortality, I must sacrifice for him."

Deidara vaguely remembered a case many years ago that involved the religion of Jashin – the god their people worshiped. Hundreds of villagers were murdered for the sake of sacrificial reasons, and five followers were sent to the death penalty. The religion was banned, but, clearly, there will still followers.

"…Chakra…" Deidara repeated.

"I thought you already went through this shit… well, Chakra is supposedly some type of mumbo-jumbo shit that every human has. Only a few people have the ability to figure out how to work it. I had to have Pierced-dick awaken it for me, as did Kisame, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Konan, and you. Pein and the others – Sasori, Itachi, and Orochimaru – awakened it themselves… Sasori, I heard, a few days after he was born. That kid is weird…"

"What is this war about, un?"

Hidan seemed awfully annoyed that Deidara was not in the mood to talk about the puppeteer, but he managed to get over it in time to answer his question. "This isn't preschool anymore, Blondie. All of these wars that were started are because of us. Sure, in school, they may have taught you that this war was caused by an assassination or some other shit, but the Akatsuki is behind any and every war. This one was started by Orochimaru. He assassinated the Hokage a few days ago, and now Konoha thinks that Suna did it because their Kazekage was killed on Konoha soil.

"The freak puppeteer was the one who killed the Kazekage. It was really weird, but the day Pein asked The Red-eyed freak, Itachi, to carry it out, Sasori absolutely insisted that it be him who carried out the killing. Freak,"

Deidara shuddered at the memory of seeing Sandaime's body in Sasori's closet the fist day he met the redhead.

Hidan crossed his arms. Deidara noticed a twitch in his eyebrow as if thinking too hard on this matter. "I heard from Orochimaru that the freak still keeps the dude's body in his closet… I swear, that kid's probably in love with the guy or some twisted up shit like that… The kid is freaking weird enough as it is,"

"Strange, un…"

"This organization is filled with fuck-ups… That red-eyed freak Itachi was a spoiled rich kid who was the son to one of the most powerful men in Konoha. This Uchiha organization made and sold weapons to other countries that earned the Uchiha family millions of dollars—"

"Billions, actually," Deidara and Hidan turned their attention to the doorway where the shark-like Man Kisame had taken his entrance. Out of all of the Akatsuki, Kisame was one of few Deidara had not talked to. He could just hear the Jaws theme playing in the background…

"Like I give a shit," Hidan groaned, annoyed with being upstaged.

"Itachi was the oldest of two sons," Kisame began, "and the Uchiha organization may have sold weapons, but they were also huge on the black on the Black Market. During The Great Ninja War, the Hokage discovered the Uchiha Industries' involvement in their rival country, Sunagakure, and ordered Itachi to take down the Corporation by killing the CEO – his own father – and all of the board of directors. Since the whole village acknowledged him as a traitor, he had no choice but to join us. Of course, he already had his chakra awakened at a young age,"

Hidan burst out in a mild fit of laughter, though Deidara didn't see what was so funny about it.

"What about you, Kisame, un?" Deidara asked now that they were on the subject.

"Me? Well… I was part of a small Organization in Kirigakure called The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. We were created to protect our Kage, but that didn't excite me much, so I just left," Kisame shrugged, not taking notice to the bored faces of his audience. Deidara expected a little more.

"Do any of you know anything about Sasori-Danna, un?"

Kisame's face went serious. "I guess since Sasori isn't here now, we could tell you… he just doesn't like talking about it…"

Hidan was the first to speak, "He was born in Sunagakure over thirty years ago, I think… I heard that he betrayed his country and was forced to leave…"

"That has nothing to do it,"

Again, the kitchen inhabitants wheeled around to face another newcomer. This time, it was Sasori. The kitchen immediately went silent as if they were children about to scold by their father.

"Danna—"

"I was son of two of Suna's strongest soldiers, but they were killed in the war with Konoha… my grandmother was forced to take care of me – if that phrase can even be used with such a situation… she was constantly being dragged out to the war, so I was forced to stay in the care of the Sandaime Kazekage, who was a very close friend of my grandmother's… then Orochimaru arrived… and asked me to come to Konoha with him… so, I faked my death, killed my grandmother, and left."

The mood in the room was officially non-existent. Deidara looked as it he had just been slapped. Kisame quickly excuse himself from the room with a glass full of water, and left. Hidan stared intently at the redhead, exchanging glares of pure hatred. Deidara suddenly felt as if he were standing in the midst of a battlefield.

"Good lucky, Blondie," Hidan snapped, more toward Sasori than its intended target. Without a second remark or second glance at either of them, he left through the kitchen door, leaving Deidara to fight the demon that had just awakened in the kitchen. He secretly wondered how much of their conversation Sasori heard.

"Danna, un… I—"

"—if you wanted to know so badly, you should've come to me first," Sasori began, "I know a lot more than that low-life Hidan."

"…I'm sorry, un… I was just curious… and… you weren't around,"

"I was taking care of separate matters. Of course, I didn't expect to return home to this mess," he scowled, shooting a look at Hidan's supposed location.

"I was just talking with him about—"

"—matters you shouldn't associate yourself with—"

"—the war, un,"

Sasori's body stiffened. "It is not my duty to discuss this with you," he explained without a glance at Deidara, "I'm sure Pein will brief the Akatsuki with this matter later. For now, it is best if you keep quiet and don't ask questions." Sasori made his way for the door.

"Wait!" Deidara barked out. It was more of an impulse. Deidara was questioning if he even thought of doing it before it blurted out. Sasori stopped in the doorway, his hand resting against its wooden surface, but he dare not turn to look at Deidara.

"I-is it true… what Hidan said… a-am I really going to war…?"

Sasori's shoulders slowly raised then fell in a great sigh. "I'm sorry, Deidara," and with that, he was gone.

-:- -:-

It was the first time he had ever been with every member of the Akatsuki other than the time he first walked into the lair. All nine of them were sprawled across the living room couches, Pein in the center of them with Konan. Sasori was in the corner with his back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest and Orochimaru by his side. Hidan was laying upside-down on the couch, his feet hanging off of the back and his head off of the seat. Kakuzu sat with an annoyed glare at his partner as he counted this month's profits. Kisame was on the opposite couch with his partner, Itachi, beside him. As for Deidara, he was dead center with Zetsu staring at him as if he were ready to swallow him whole. He could smell the scent of the dead every time Zetsu breathed out.

Konan was the first to address the crowd. As soon as she shifted positions, the whole room went quiet. Pein was the first to stand.

"Listen up. This time around, there was a higher bid on Konohakagure's behalf. Sunagakure came in second, and they offered three million for Sasori."

The Akatsuki turned their heads to look at the redhead, who had a very unpleasant smile on his face. Pein cleared his throat and their heads instantly shifted back to the pierced man.

"—as I was saying… Itachi, Konoha paid two-point-five Mil for you, but I'll be sending you to Suna for the sake of the Uchiha Industries. Hidan, you're going to Konoha for one-point-five Mil."

"Shit… I hate this country." Hidan interrupted with a groan.

"Zetsu to Suna, Kakuzu stays for finances, Konan stays, Kisame to Konoha, Orochimaru stays; and as for Deidara, you've been asked to remain in Konoha."

Deidara's face fell. The room erupted with casual banter before it cleared out, leaving just Deidara, Pein, and Konan. Pein seemed to notice exactly what Deidara was thinking as he advanced on him.

"Pein, I can't… I can't fight against Sasori."

"Deidara, you're new to this. You don't have much of a say in this until you've been here longer than you have. Konoha did not pay very much for you, and Suna paid almost nothing. Until you have a say in where you're sold, you can't do anything about it." Pein snapped, rather annoyed with the whole situation.

"Deidara, it'll be fine… Akatsuki are not required to fight against one of their own. I just wouldn't run into him on the battlefield. There's a reason why villages pay so much for him." Konan finished before walking out of the room with Pein under her arm. Deidara's heart sunk a little more as he walked back to Sasori's room.

Of course, he was absent of it. In fact, the room looked as it had been neglected of human presence for days. Deidara collapsed on the unmade bed, spread-eagled and eye wide open. After the thoughts clouding his mind whisked away, he fell victim of sleep.

The door burst open and in spilled Sasori. His red hair fell over his eyes, and his breathing was heavy, almost as if he had returned from a ten mile jog (which would probably be nothing to a person like him). He looked relieved of sleep, unlike the previously-snoozing blonde. He was used to seeing Sasori like this – messy, unkempt, and slightly lanky.

"I can't stand this…" the only words Sasori muttered and repeated to himself as if someone were actually listening and understood what was going through his mind. Obviously, he still thought Deidara was asleep, otherwise he would've said something or stopped by now. Sasori slipped out his cloak and dropped it carelessly onto the bed, oblivious to the fact that it was now covering the half-asleep blonde lying on his bed.

The redhead crossed his room and walked over to his closet, pulling it open and paying no mind to the jars threatening to leap off of their respected shelves. Deidara kept his human eye shut, but his scope kept Sasori in its gaze. The puppeteer slipped out of the closet with his hand wrapped around what seemed to be another's. The Kazekage's lifeless body spilled onto the carpet, its wooden body parts clanking along with it. Sasori knelt at its side and began driving a needle and thread through the fabric of his cloak.

One thing Deidara noticed about Sasori is that he often combated emotions with productivity. He would read, sew, build something, or fix something when he wanted to hide something from the rest of the world.

"I'm so sick of everyone asking me about my past…" he whispered to the puppet, stroking its cheek rather fondly. Deidara couldn't help but feel a burning jealousy for the puppet.

"…Danna…"

Sasori shot up, as if awakened from a trance, and got to his feet to meet Deidara's gaze. His eyes with cascaded with humiliation and hatred. Deidara was lying on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Why are you here?" Sasori asked.

"I was asleep… you woke me up, un," Deidara stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Sasori closed his eyes and bit his lip in annoyance with himself. "Can we talk?"

Sasori's eyes reflected the candlelight burning on the bedside table as he watched Deidara. He closed his eyes as if he were afraid Deidara would be able to read him, before he nodded and took a seat beside him. "What do you want?"

"I know it wasn't a dream, Danna," Deidara stated, resting his head on Sasori's leg, "That night you told me that you killed my parents… I know it wasn't a nightmare. There's something you're not telling me…"

"I already told you the whole truth," Sasori inched away from the blonde, carelessly allowing Deidara's head to fall off of his leg and back onto the bed. "I did kill them."

Deidara shot up onto his knees, surprised by the lack of remorse in the redhead's voice. "Wha-what? You won't even deny it? B-but, why would you kill them, un…?"

"Because they took something very precious from me…"

A malicious smile broke across Sasori's lips as he spoke…

-:- -:-

…"_Once upon a time, there was a young boy who was born into a noble family of elite Sunagakure soldiers. Every day, he would watch helplessly as they abandoned him with his grandmother to fight in a terrible war. One day they didn't come back and the boy became an orphan. His grandmother never had enough time to take care of her grandson, so she left him in the care of a close family friend who was soon to become the Third Kazekage. With hatred and corruption boiling in his heart, the young Boy grew up with mistrustful ideals and selfishness shielding him from those who had hurt him. The man who meant the most to him abandoned the boy for his country, and the boy was now more alone than ever. _

"_One day, a mysterious stranger appeared and offered the boy a path. In one month's time, the boy turned from a tortured adolescence into a serial killer. He faked his death, killed his grandmother, threatened the Kazekage, and vanished. _

"_Before the boy could assume place at his new home, he needed peace of mind. Angered and frustrated by his hurt, foolish heart, he took the lives of the people who had taken the lives of the two who mattered the most in the world to him. Little did he know, but the couple had a son who was only a few weeks old. The boy wanted nothing more than to kill the infant, but he couldn't bring himself to it. Instead, he brought the boy with him to Konoha, where he abandoned him at an Orphanage where he would grow and be despised by the tortured boy._

"_The orphan grew and left nothing to be desired – no one would adopt him, love him, or pay attention to him. Then he met her. The girl who would change his life. For once in his life, he was happy. The boy didn't like that. So he took her life, and claimed the orphan as his own. The boy killed everyone precious to the orphan… apart from one person. That person was the boy himself._

"_Deep down, the boy hated the orphan more than anything else. He wanted the orphan to perish and suffer just as he did and will suffer for the rest of his life. Poor, poor Deidara…"_

-:- -:-

"…I hate you, Deidara… I've never hated anyone this much before… your parents… they stole my life away… they killed me… my humanity is gone because of them… I've been watching you from the moment I left you on the front steps of the Orphanage. I made sure no one adopted you… I made sure no one cared for you… I protected you from death because I wanted you to suffer… you couldn't go the easy way. Then you started investigating Sandaime… my sensei, after I killed him… I knew that it was time for me to intervene in your life again… you're mine, you see… no one else can have you. No one can love you, or want you… or hurt you… no one except me."

When Sasori had finished, Deidara's eyes were numb from tears. Sasori's expression remained unchanged from the moment he started talking – that same evil smile the detective was used to seeing on murderers locked up in insane asylums.

That smile…

That Insane, evil, malicious smile…

A growl that could put a tiger to shame erupted from Deidara's mouth as he launched himself at Sasori, pressing his hands firmly against the Puppeteer's slender, fragile little neck. He wanted nothing more then to snap it and watch Sasori die in a pool of his blood.

This boy… this evil, evil boy…

This dark, _twisted_ boy…

"I'll kill you…! I-I'll kill you…!"

Sasori could feel Deidara's palm mouths sink their teeth into his neck, tearing at his flesh in anger. It was as if every single moment Deidara had felt torment in his life was coming out right now, and keeping those firm hands tightly clasped around his esophagus.

"…Going… to kill… me…?" Sasori choked, swallowing and gasping. "…I-I… raised you… I protect…ted… you… you could… s-say… I'm like… your… f-father…"

Hearing this made Deidara's muscles relax a little – the perfect opening for an elite Akatsuki member. Sasori thrust his hand upward and into Deidara's ribcage. A terrible CRACK filled the air as Deidara fell off the bed and collapsed onto the floor, too weak to move. Sasori got to his feet, massaging his neck and swallowing air in shallow, wheezing gasps. He looked down at Deidara, coughed a bit, and then spoke.

"You're pathetic… y-you always have been… since the day you were born… you could never even dream of killing me… y-you… you… _weakling…_"

Deidara clenched his fists and tore at the carpet. He couldn't move – it felt as it Sasori had broken a few of his ribs. He felt a foot push him onto his back. His eyes focused onto Sasori's evil, corrupted expression.

"…perhaps it's time I end your pitiful existence…"

-:- -:-

Author's Note – I'M SO SORRY! I'm sorry for taking almost three months for an update! I'm sorry that this chapter is so morbid. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. PLEASE, PLEASE review. Even if you want to curse me out for this plot twist, I totally understand.


	11. An Author's Apologies

This story is not going to be finished. I've lost interest in Naruto along with every idea I had for this story. Thank you for your kind words and reviews.


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